{"id":57127,"date":"2026-02-28T16:37:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/israel-may-have-killed-dozens-of-senior-iranian-officials-with-khamenei-as-top-target\/28\/02\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T16:37:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:37:44","slug":"israel-may-have-killed-dozens-of-senior-iranian-officials-with-khamenei-as-top-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/israel-may-have-killed-dozens-of-senior-iranian-officials-with-khamenei-as-top-target\/28\/02\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel may have killed dozens of senior Iranian officials, with Khamenei as top target"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Among those targeted were aides Ali Larijani and Ali Shamkhani, IRGC chiefs including Esmail Qaani, and the Iranian defense minister \u2022 Israel targeted assassinations as US focused elsewhere<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Up to 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 on Saturday, while American forces focused on other issues, such as attacking the ballistic missile apparatus, naval targets, and nuclear targets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The top targeted official is Iran&#8217;s Supreme Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/israel-us-launch-attack-iran-082125814.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Ayatollah Ali Khamenei;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a>. Israeli confidence has grown over the course of the day that he has been assassinated, though it is not yet definitive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">His well-known command center in Tehran was bombed, but reports were that he was not there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">However, in June 2025, Israel managed to assassinate top Iranian officials also at their backup secret locations.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Satellite imagery from an alleged Israeli strike on the bunker where Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is being guarded. (credit: FAIR USE UNDER ISRAELI COPYRIGHT LAW, ARTICLE 27A)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Ali Larijani, Ali Shamkhani among Khamenei aides targeted<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ali Larijani, who has been Khamenei&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ali Shamkhani, another top security aide to Khamenei for over a decade, may also have been killed, though he was also thought to be killed in the June 2025 Operation, and at that time survived.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Esmail Qaani, top IRGC officers potentially killed by Israel<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Islamic Revolutionary Guard Chief Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who just recently replaced his predecessor who was killed in June 2025, also may be dead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/tags\/esmail-qaani\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Esmail Qaani;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Esmail Qaani<\/a>, who replaced the infamous Qasem Soleimani as head of the feared IRGC Quds Force after he was assassinated in 2000, could have been killed in the same attacks.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"BRIGADIER-GENERAL Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force. T (credit: WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY\/REUTERS)\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"523\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/ZeIhN716Eu7IvNlNWmFRrQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYyODtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/jerusalem_post_articles_818\/7e913e2f11b5389d75408d2a94dd62cc\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>BRIGADIER-GENERAL Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force. T (credit: WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY\/REUTERS)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Iran army military chief, Abdolrahim Mousavi, who also replaced his predecessor who was killed in June 2025, also may be dead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The defense minister for Iran, Amir Nasirzadeh, may also be among the top officials assassinated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In general, Iran reports that 201 people have been dead and 747 injured.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There has not yet been a breakdown of combatants to civilians, but in June 2025, Israel was credited with a low civilian casualty ratio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/israel-may-killed-dozens-senior-203501314.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Among those targeted were aides Ali Larijani and Ali Shamkhani, IRGC chiefs including Esmail Qaani, and the Iranian defense minister &bull; Israel<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/israel-may-have-killed-dozens-of-senior-iranian-officials-with-khamenei-as-top-target\/28\/02\/2026\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/en\/jerusalem_post_articles_818\/002c181f1770b091085b5457c03c56f2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57127"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}