Iran suffered heavy losses in the recent US-Israeli strikes, with the elimination of the country’s top leaders. Apart from its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Abdol Rahim Mousavi, were also killed in the strikes, as confirmed by Iran’s state-run media IRNA on Sunday (March 1, 2026).
As per reports, the Iranian Defence Minister was killed in a strike targeting a meeting of Iran’s defence council. General Abdol Rahim Mousavi was also killed at the meeting along with the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and security adviser Ali Shamkhani. The IRNA reported that at least 201 people died and over 700 were injured in the strikes. In addition to that, around 40 Iranian officials were also killed. The media said that the names of the commanders of the armed forces killed will be released later.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli Air Force confirmed the killing of seven top Iranian defence officials in the strikes carried out by its aircraft on Iran’s military facilities. The killed defence officials have been identified as Ali Shamkhani, Mohammad Pakpour, Saleh Asadi, Mohammad Shirazi, Aziz Nasirzadeh, Hossein Jabal Amelian, and Reza Mozaffari-Nia. “IAF fighter jets precisely struck military targets across Iran, eliminating 7 senior officials of the Iranian Defence Leadership: Ali Shamkhani, Mohammad Pakpour, Saleh Asadi, Mohammad Shirazi, Aziz Nasirzadeh, Hossein Jabal Amelian, and Reza Mozaffari-Nia. The world is a better place without them,” the Israeli Air Force wrote on X on Sunday.
🔴ELIMINATED:
IAF fighter jets precisely struck military targets across Iran, eliminating 7 senior officials of the Iranian Defense Leadership:Ali Shamkhani, Mohammad Pakpour, Saleh Asadi, Mohammad Shirazi, Aziz Nasirzadeh, Hossein Jabal Amelian, Reza Mozaffari-Nia.
The world… pic.twitter.com/747uf7kJ4J
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) February 28, 2026
According to IDF’s Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the strikes on Iran have been labelled by the Israeli Defence Forces as ‘Operation Roaring Lion’. “Our mission could not be more clear. The IDF will continue to act to remove emerging threats against Israel because the price of an action is too high,” Shoshani said in a video message on Sunday.
In retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes, Iran launched strikes in neighbouring countries with the US military bases or those allying with the US, including Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait. On the death of the Supreme Leader, Iran has announced a 40-day public mourning.
A statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that Israeli and US military facilities in the Middle East were hit by “powerful Iranian missile strikes,” warning that Iran’s military operations would continue. The IRGC declared all US assets in the region as legitimate targets. “This operation will persist without interruption until the enemy is decisively defeated,” the IRGC said.
