US-Israeli airstrikes have resulted in significant casualties within Iran’s leadership, including the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, marking a pivotal moment nearly three weeks into the conflict.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Iran is facing severe destruction. In a statement on the Israeli army’s Persian-language social media, the Iranian leadership was likened to a “collapsing house of cards.”
Here’s a summary of the key Iranian figures who have been killed in the ongoing war:
Supreme Leader Khamenei, who had been at the helm since 1989, was killed in a targeted strike in Tehran on February 28, during a meeting of senior officials. The attack reportedly also claimed the lives of his daughter-in-law, daughter, and at least one grandchild.
Ali Larijani, a long-standing figure in the Iranian political system despite not being a cleric, was another major loss for the Islamic Republic following Khamenei’s death. Larijani was killed on March 17 in an Israeli airstrike in the Tehran area, which also resulted in the deaths of several family members.
Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, formerly the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ ground forces, became the leader of the force tasked with preserving the revolution in June 2025, succeeding the late Hossein Salami. Pakpour was killed on the first day of the conflict.
