The Israeli army has claimed the assassination of 40 senior Iranian officials, foremost among them the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reports AFP.
Official Iranian media have so far confirmed the names of six high-ranking figures killed during a meeting of the Defence Council, and have also reported the deaths of three members of Khamenei’s family.
Here are the six names confirmed by Iran, as well as one other senior official Israel maintains was assassinated:
- Ali Khamenei
- Mohammad Pakpour, commander of IRGC
- Ali Shamkhani, close adviser to the supreme leader
- Gholamreza Rezaian, the national intelligence chief of the police
- Abdolrahim Mousavim, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces
- Aziz Nasirzadeh, the defence minister
- Mohammad Shirazi, the head of Khamenei’s military office
