Dozens of top Iranian officials may have been assassinated collectively at a few different meetings on Saturday, with indications that Israel focused on this part of the joint US-Israel bombings, while American forces focused on other issues, such as attacking the ballistic missile apparatus, naval targets, and nuclear targets. The top-targeted official is Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israeli confidence has grown over the course of the day that he has been assassinated, and Iranian news sources confirmed his death early on Sunday morning. His well-known command center in Tehran was bombed, but reports indicated that he was not there. However, Khamenei's daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law were killed in US-Israeli strikes, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.
However, in June 2025, Israel managed to assassinate top Iranian officials, also at their backup secret locations. Ali Larijani, who has been Khamenei's stand-in to run the country in recent weeks, as the ayatollah went underground to try to avoid assassination, may also have been killed. Ali Shamkhani, another top security aide to Khamenei for over a decade, has been confirmed killed, though he was also thought to be killed in the June 2025 Operation, and at that time survived. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Chief Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who just recently replaced his predecessor, who was killed in June 2025, has been confirmed killed. (Read More)
