After Khamenei, Iran’s Armed Forces Chief Killed In US-Israel Strikes

Show Quick Read

Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

Iran’s top military leadership was decimated in a precision airstrike that struck a high-level meeting of the country’s Supreme Defence Council, Iranian state television reported on Sunday. Among those killed were Chief of Staff Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defence Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh. Also confirmed dead were the commander of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and senior security adviser Ali Shamkhani, whose deaths had been announced earlier in the day.

The strike came a day after a joint US-Israeli operation targeted and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at his office in Tehran. Iranian authorities acknowledged the 86-year-old leader’s death on Saturday, a development that has plunged the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and heightened fears of broader regional turmoil.

Iran Launches Missiles At Israeli Targets

In response, Iran launched missiles at Israeli targets as well as at US military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, pledging sweeping retaliation. US President Donald Trump warned Tehran against escalating the confrontation further. “This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” Trump said, cautioning that any additional attacks would trigger an unprecedented American response.

Iran’s Cabinet declared that the killing of its leader would not go unanswered, while the Revolutionary Guard threatened what it described as its most forceful military campaign yet against Israeli and American positions. Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iran would inflict “devastating blows” in retaliation.

Following the initial exchange, Iran fired dozens of missiles and drones toward Israel. The Israeli military said many projectiles were intercepted. Emergency service Magen David Adom reported that a woman in the Tel Aviv area died after being critically injured in one of the missile strikes.