Multiple high-ranking Islamic Revolution Guard Corps commanders and regime officials — including IRGC Commander Gen. Mohammad Pakpour and Iranian defense minister Amir Nasirzadeh — may have been killed in Operation Epic Fury, according to reports
Pakpour was named head of the IRGC after Israel’s June attacks on Iran killed his predecessor, Hossein Salami, and oversaw the deaths of thousands of protestors during weeks-long unrest in December.
Multiple sources said the joint Saturday strikes were believed to have eliminated Pakpour and Nasirzadeh, according to Reuters.
Iran’s Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was also reportedly killed. AFP via Getty Images
IRGC Commander Gen. Mohammad Pakpour is believed to have been killed in the strikes. Anadolu via Getty Images
US and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran, killing top officials in Operation Epic Fury. UGC/UNKNOWN/AFP via Getty Images
A plume of smoke rises following an explosion in Tehran. AFP via Getty ImagesUS and Israel launched at least seven missiles on Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s fortified compound, killing numerous senior officials, Iranian sources told the outlet.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News also admitted that at least two Iranian commanders were killed in the attack, but did not confirm any names.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, may have also been killed, according to Iranian media.
Another 40 people were killed when Israeli missiles landed on a school, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media.
Under his rule as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ top commander, Pakpour oversaw the deaths of 3,117 civilians across the nation — including bystanders and witnesses — during nationwide anti-regime protests.
Soldiers allegedly opened fire into the crowds indiscriminately — and put the country under a media blackout to hide the bloodshed.
Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, 86, was not at his Tehran compound during the attacks. KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump ordered the strikes on Iran, which took place early Saturday morning. Donald J. Trump/Truth Social“I was there that night. The security forces opened fire on people. They killed my child,” one mother told Reuters about Dec. 28.
UN human rights experts warned Tehran’s crackdown on anti-regime protesters has resulted in as many as 20,000 Iranian demonstrators, including children, being killed.
Iranian officials have claimed at the time that the mounting deaths during the protests were the fault of “rioters,” “terrorists,” and foreign influence.
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Last month, Pakpour threatened that Iran’s “finger is on the trigger” as US military resources were allocated to the Middle East, and warned the US and Israel “to avoid any miscalculation.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were also targeted in Saturday’s attack, though the fate of both officials remains unknown.
Conflicting reports about whether Khamenei, 86, survived the bombing swirled.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei is alive “as far as I know.”
Pezeshkian’s son claims his father survived the attack, stating: “The assassination attempts failed and other officials are also healthy.”
President Trump said in an address early Saturday morning that the strikes were targeting Iranian leadership and that Operation Epic Fury’s objective was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
Airstrikes were also reported in other enclaves, including Isfahan, Qom, Karaj and Kermanshah, but the full extent of the attack is not yet clear.
