The U.S. and Israel have killed a large number of Iran’s top leaders in the military campaign that began Saturday, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . Here’s a look at the Iranian leaders who have died in the assault, and those who have survived.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Age: 86, confirmed killed
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, February 17, 2026. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Position: Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ali Khamenei had the final say on all matters of Iran’s national security as the paramount leader . The 86-year-old was a key figure in the movement that led to the overthrow of the shah in 1979 and succeeded revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini as supreme leader in 1989. Khamenei was in power during previous crackdowns on antigovernment protesters and has been a lightning rod for dissent. In mid-February he warned that Iran was ready to retaliate against any American strike.
Ali Larijani
Age: 67, presumed alive
FILE PHOTO: Ali Larijani, former chairman of the parliament of Iran, attends a press conference after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon November 15, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo
Position: Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council
A former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ali Larijani leads Iran’s most powerful security body, the Supreme National Security Council, and is Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s chief diplomatic fixer and enforcer.
He was recently sent to neighboring countries to threaten retaliation if they allowed U.S. strikes to be launched from their territories, and he also oversaw the brutal crackdown that killed thousands of protesters last month. Larijani is also entrusted by Khamenei to carry out some of Iran’s most difficult diplomatic tasks. He was sent to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, and in 2024 told Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad that Iran was giving up on him.
Masoud Pezeshkian
Age: 71, presumed alive
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a visit to the shrine of the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in southern Tehran, Iran, January 31, 2026. Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Position: Iran’s president
A medical doctor by profession, Masoud Pezeshkian was elected president in 2024 on an agenda of political, social and economic changes. He had also vowed to re-engage in discussions with the U.S. to end sanctions.
He has become increasingly sidelined as he failed to keep an economic crisis under control and nuclear talks with Washington failed to lead to a deal.
Ali Shamkhani
Age: 70, confirmed killed
FILE PHOTO: Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani meets with Russia’s Presidential Aide Igor Levitin in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY/File Photo
Position: Secretary of Iran’s Defense Council
Ali Shamkhani led Iran’s Defense Council, a body created in August 2025 after the June war to help devise military wartime strategy. Shamkhani was severely injured in an Israeli airstrike last year. He previously led the National Security Council and once commanded Iran’s navy.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Age: 64, presumed alive
FILE – This combo of file photos show Iran’s key political and religious figures, top row, from left, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Khamenei Adviser on Public Policy Ali Larijani, Chief Justice Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, Head of Assembly Experts Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani and Secretary of Guardian Council Ahmad Jannati, bottom row, from left, Khamenei’s Chief of Staff Mohammad Golpayegani, Khamenei Adviser on International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati, Khamenei Adviser on Foreign Policy Kamal Kharazi, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran Friday Prayer Imam Ahmad Khatami and Son of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. (AP Photo/File)
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a lawmaker from Iran, left, and Ali AlNuaimi of the United Arab Emirates pose during a group photo at the 11th BRICS Parliamentary Forum held at the Federal Senate in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Position: Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, military coordinator
A conservative politician, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has close connections to the police and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which oversees Iran’s missile program. A key player in the crackdown on mass protests, he was previously a commander of the aerospace force of the IRGC, then Iran’s police chief before becoming Tehran’s mayor.
Gen. Mohammad Pakpour
Age: 65, confirmed killed
Position: Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Gen. Mohammad Pakpour was appointed head of the IRGC after the death of his predecessor, Hossein Salami, in the June 2025 strikes on Iran. Pakpour was previously commander of the IRGC’s ground forces, which oversee the protection of Iran’s territory and have been involved in this year’s crackdown on demonstrators protesting the regime and its handling of Iran’s worsening economy.
Aziz Nasirzadeh
Age: 62, confirmed killed
Iran Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh attends the Defense Ministers’ Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Members States in Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong province on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Position: Defense Minister
Iran’s top civilian defense leader since 2024, Aziz Nasirzadeh was previously deputy chief of staff for the conventional army, the Iranian Armed Forces. Until 2021, he was commander of the Iranian air force.
This explanatory article may be periodically updated . undefined
Write to James Benedict at james.benedict@wsj.com , Sune Engel Rasmussen at sune.rasmussen@wsj.com and Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications undefined Sayyid Hossein Mousavi Eftekhari, a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, was misidentified as Mir Hossein Mousavi in a previous version of this article. That reference has been removed. (Corrected on March 1)
