The Israeli military said Saturday it had killed dozens of senior members of Iran’s leadership in a sweeping, coordinated series of strikes across Tehran, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted multiple locations in Tehran where senior Iranian defense and security officials had gathered. According to a senior Israeli security official, more than 40 top regime and security figures were eliminated in what was described as one of the largest leadership “decapitation operations” in modern warfare.
Israeli intelligence reportedly infiltrated Iran’s senior security echelon, enabling the precision strikes.
Among those killed, the IDF said, was Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a close adviser to Khamenei.
Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since Operation Rising Lion, was also killed. The IDF described him as one of the leaders behind Iran’s “destruction of Israel” strategy.
Other officials reported killed include:
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Saleh Asadi, head of the Intelligence Directorate of the Khatam al-Anbiya emergency command
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Mohammad Shirazi, chief of the Supreme Leader’s Military Bureau since 1989
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Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh
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Hossein Jabal Amelian, who chaired an organization tied to nuclear, biological and chemical weapons projects
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Reza Mozaffari-Nia, who previously led the same organization
According to Israeli officials, the senior leadership had been meeting at a compound in Tehran when the attack occurred.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Khamenei’s death in a post on Truth Social.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead,” Trump wrote. “This is not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all great Americans and people from many countries who were killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty thugs.”
Sources told Fox News the operation was accelerated after Israeli intelligence identified the gathering as a “target of opportunity,” which is why the strikes were launched in broad daylight.
“There was a deliberate decision to move up the timeline,” one source said, citing the chance to eliminate Iran’s top leadership in a single blow.
