In a dramatic development, the leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, General Mohammad Pakpour, reportedly met his end during a coordinated missile attack by the United States and Israel on Saturday. Known as a key figure behind Iran’s severe response to recent protests, Pakpour was allegedly killed during strikes aimed at Tehran, according to Israeli intelligence assessments.
The joint military operation marks a significant escalation in the already strained relations among the US, Israel, and Iran. Tehran has promised a “crushing” retaliation, signaling the potential for further conflict in the region.
Images and videos from the Iranian capital reveal numerous buildings engulfed in smoke, particularly in proximity to the offices of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The intensity of the strikes has reportedly led to the destruction of Khamenei’s palace. While it remains unclear if the 86-year-old leader was present at the time, the implications are significant.
According to reports from Israel’s Channel 12, citing unnamed sources, the strikes also targeted President Masoud Pezeshkian and several high-ranking regime and military officials. This development underscores the critical nature of the operation, aimed at dismantling the core of Iran’s leadership.
According to Israeli media Channel 12, quoting unnamed Israeli sources, Khamenei’s palace has been completely destroyed, though it is unclear whether the 86-year-old was present.
An Israeli official confirmed that President Masoud Pezeshkian was also among those targeted by the strikes, alongside other senior regime and military commanders.
The results of the strikes are currently unclear, but the official said there had been a ‘very high success’ from the operation, which Israel has named ‘Lion’s Roar’.
The US meanwhile has named its military operation ‘Epic Fury’.
IRGC commander General Mohammad Pakpour is said to have been ‘eliminated’ in strikes targeting the capital, Tehran, according to Israeli assessments
Pakpour, as head of the IRGC, was credited with being the ‘architect’ of the regime’s brutal crackdown against protesters
Hossein Salami was killed in in Israeli airstrikes, prompting the promotion of Pakpour last June
Pakpour was appointed the new commander of the IRGC in June 2025 following the killing of his predecessor, Hossein Salami, in Israeli airstrikes.
Promoted to the rank of major general, he was directed to ‘enhance the IRGC’s capabilities, readiness, and internal cohesion.’
Pakpour came to prominence again in January as the man said to have directed the bloody massacre of tens of thousands of Iranians during a series of uprisings against the regime.
According to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 6,872 people, mostly protesters, were killed in the crackdown, though they and other rights groups warn the toll is likely far higher.
Some estimates place the death toll as exceeding 30,000.
Just over a month ago Pakpour sent a stark warning to Israel and the United States ‘to avoid any miscalculations’ as tensions between the countries continued to rise.
Referring to the conflict which took place in June 2025, Pakpour told US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to learn ‘from historical experiences and what they learned in the 12-day imposed war, so that they do not face a more painful and regrettable fate.’
He added, during his statement in January: ‘The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and dear Iran have their finger on the trigger, more prepared than ever, ready to carry out the orders and measures of the supreme commander-in-chief — a leader dearer than their own lives.’
Since the strikes this morning, the Israeli military has identified dozens of ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards Israel, with defensive systems operating to ‘intercept the threat’.
Blasts have also rocked Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi sparking fears the Middle East may now be on the brink of all out war.
In Bahrain, officials confirmed that the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet had been targeted by a missile attack – with footage shared on social media showing a large plume of smoke rising into the sky.
President Trump announced the United States had begun ‘major combat operations’ amid claims Iran had continued to expand its nuclear programme and has plans to develop missiles to reach the US.
He said: ‘We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground, it will be totally, again, obliterated,’ Trump said in his announcement.
‘We’re going to annihilate their navy, we’re going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilise the region or the world and attack our forces, and no longer use their IEDs or roadside bombs as they are sometimes called, to gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans.
‘And we will ensure that Iran does not attain a nuclear weapon – a very simple message: They will never have a nuclear weapon.’
President Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said the purpose of the operation was to remove the ‘existential threat’ posed by Iran.
He said: ‘My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, a short time ago, Israel and the United States embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.
‘I thank our great friend, President Donald Trump, for his historic leadership. For 47 years, the Ayatollah regime has been shouting ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America’.
‘It has spilled our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people. This murderous terrorist regime must not be armed with nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity. Our joint action will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.
‘The time has come for all segments of the Iranian people – the Persians, the Kurds, the Azeris, the Baluchis, and the Ahwazis – to throw off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peaceful Iran.
‘I appeal to you, the citizens of Israel, to listen to the instructions of the Home Front Command. In the coming days, in Operation “The Roar of the Lion”, we will all be required to have endurance and fortitude.
‘Together we will stand, together we will fight, and together we will ensure the eternity of Israel.’
