Tehran, Iran — Iran’s newly appointed Defense Minister, Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, has reportedly been killed in a massive airstrike carried out by U.S. and Israeli forces as part of an unprecedented military campaign against senior Iranian leadership and strategic military infrastructure.
Iranian state television and official sources confirmed that Nasirzadeh — who took office after the previous defense minister was killed in earlier strikes — was among a group of top military leaders struck during a coordinated attack in Tehran. The operation targeted a high-level meeting of Iran’s defense and security officials, drawing sharp international attention.
Alongside Nasirzadeh, state media listed other senior figures killed in the strike, including Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Abdolrahim Mousavi, Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Pakpour, and Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani. The assault followed intense bombardment of strategic sites across Iran in retaliation for escalating hostilities with U.S. and Israeli forces.
The reported assassination of Nasirzadeh — a former air force commander who assumed the defense role amidst rising tensions — marks a critical escalation in a conflict that has already seen missile and drone strikes across the Gulf. Iranian officials have denounced the attack as a blatant violation of international law and sovereignty, while Western leaders frame the operation as necessary to degrade Iran’s capacity to wage asymmetric warfare.
Although Tehran has yet to provide a full, detailed casualty list, the strike on the Defense Ministry’s leadership underscores the depth of disruption within the Iranian military hierarchy. The death of Nasirzadeh complicates Iran’s command structure at a moment when Tehran confronts sustained pressure on multiple fronts.
The international community has reacted with alarm to the killings of senior Iranian officials. Concerned nations and global organizations are calling for restraint and deliberating responses to prevent further escalation of what has rapidly become one of the most consequential conflicts in the Middle East in decades.