Iranian Defense Minister Amir Nasirzadeh and Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammed Pakpour were killed in Israeli strikes, Reuters reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
Nasirzadeh was the Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces before becoming the Minister of Defense. The minister began his military career as a fighter pilot.
Pakpour assumed command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 2025 after taking over following the death of previous commander Hossein Salami in Israeli strikes.
The development comes after Israel’s military said it struck several locations in Tehran on Saturday morning where senior Iranian officials had gathered as part of its attack, AFP reported.
“The attack this morning was carried out simultaneously at several locations in Tehran where high-ranking officials of Iran’s political-security group had gathered,” the news portal quoted a military statement published on X as saying, without confirming the results.
Attack on school children
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi claimed that an Israeli strike on an Iranian elementary school for girls killed dozens of people. Araghchi promised to respond to the strikes.
“The destroyed building is a primary school for girls in the south of Iran. It was bombed in broad daylight when it was full of young students. Dozens of innocent children were murdered in this place alone. These crimes against the Iranian people will not go unanswered,” he wrote on X.
US-Israeli attack on Iran
The Israel Defense Forces announced a joint operation with the US armed forces against the Iranian regime.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X earlier in the day: “OPERATION ROARING LION: The IDF and US armed forces have launched a large-scale and joint operation to thoroughly degrade the Iranian terrorist regime and eliminate existential threats to Israel over time. The Iranian regime has not abandoned its plan to destroy Israel. The regime has continued to fund, train and armed positions on Israel’s borders pose an existing border threat to Israel. They pose a danger to the Middle East and the world at large.”
Meanwhile, several countries have urged peace in the region.
Iran responded with retaliatory strikes against Israel and US assets in several Gulf states. Several explosions were heard in Tehran and blasts were also reported in various other parts of the country, ANI reported.
