WANA (Mar 01) – Following Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, official sources reported the assassination of Iran’s Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

According to the published statement, the incident occurred during a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council, where several senior military commanders lost their lives. Among those killed were Major General Seyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces; Major General Mohammad Pakpour, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, senior advisor to the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of the Defense Council; and Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.

 

The statement declared a period of national mourning and emphasized the continuation of the Islamic Republic’s political and defense trajectory, as well as the preservation of internal unity. It also noted that the names of other victims would be announced in due course.

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, was assassinated following a Saturday morning attack by Israel and the United States.

 

In the early minutes of Sunday morning, shortly after announcing the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei, the Public Relations Office of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared: “The most intense offensive operation in the history of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will begin within moments toward the occupied territories and the bases of American terrorists.”

 

The General Staff of the Armed Forces also stated in a separate announcement that “criminal America and the Israeli regime will be made to regret [their actions].”