What to know about targeted strikes on Iran's leadership?

A funeral for Iranian high-ranking military commanders killed during strikes launched by the United States and Israel against Iran is held in Tehran, Iran, March 11, 2026. [Xinhua/Shadati]

In a matter of days, a string of high-profile killings has torn through Iran's senior ranks, claiming the lives of Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib, among others.

The wave of targeted strikes raises urgent questions about the Islamic Republic's stability, its capacity to continue its fight against the United States and Israel, and the prospects for any negotiated end to the conflict.

Who were killed?

On the first day of the conflict, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed, an event with no modern precedent in the history of the Islamic Republic. He had been meeting with senior officials at the time, several of whom also died in the strike: Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's National Defense Council; Mohammad Pakpour, chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh; and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi.

The killings continued in the weeks that followed. On Monday, Israeli forces killed Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran's Basij volunteer force, in a targeted strike. Israel described Larijani as one of the most powerful figures in post-Khamenei Iran: a longtime confidant of the Supreme Leader who had effectively assumed control of Iranian military operations following Khamenei's death. Soleimani had led the Basij for six years, commanding a paramilitary force that Israel described as crucial to Iran's broader military structure.

On Tuesday, Intelligence Minister Khatib was killed in a separate Israeli strike. A veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, he had spent years in senior IRGC roles before his 2021 appointment and, according to Israel, had overseen Iranian operations targeting Israeli and U.S. interests worldwide.

People attend a funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2026. [Xinhua/Shadati]