Conflicting reports have surfaced over whether Iran’s Defence Minister and senior Revolutionary Guards commanders were killed in Israeli strikes, as Tehran pushes back against claims of major leadership losses.
Multiple sources familiar with Israel’s military operations said senior figures may have been killed, while Iranian officials and state media have denied several of the reports.
Two sources familiar with Israel’s military operations and one regional source said Iran’s Defence Minister Amir Nasirzadeh and Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammed Pakpour are believed to have been killed in Israeli attacks.
The reports have not been independently confirmed, and Iranian authorities have not officially acknowledged the deaths of the two figures.
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its strikes in Tehran targeted locations where senior political and security figures were gathered, fueling speculation about high-level casualties.
Iranian officials downplay impact
Iran’s foreign minister appeared to downplay the potential losses, telling NBC News on Saturday: “We may have lost a few commanders but that’s not such a big problem.”
The remark suggests that Tehran may be acknowledging some military casualties, even as it disputes specific claims about senior leadership deaths.
Iranian state media have denied reports that senior political officials and the country’s army chief were killed in the wave of US-Israeli strikes.
President Masoud Pezeshkian is safe, according to his executive deputy Mohammad Jafar Qaempanah, who said so in a post on X. The president’s son, Youssef Pezeshkian, wrote on Telegram that “this time their assassination attempts have not succeeded.”
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The Iranian army has also denied the death of its commander, Major General Amir Hatami.
Meanwhile, the hardline Fars News Agency reported that Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and the head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Larijani, remain unharmed.
Growing uncertainty
The competing claims come amid a broader wave of US-Israeli strikes across Iran, with the IDF confirming that its operations targeted sites in Tehran linked to senior political and security leadership.
While some regional and Israeli-linked sources suggest high-level casualties, Tehran continues to deny the deaths of key figures and insists that much of its top leadership remains intact.
