Who is Dead and Who is Alive in Iran – List

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American and Israeli forces launched a massive joint military campaign against Iran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with multiple senior Iranian defense and security officials.

The operation, called “Epic Fury” by the Pentagon and “Roaring Lion” by Israel, sent shockwaves through the Middle East and beyond.

NPR reported that Iran’s state media confirmed the death of the 86-year-old Supreme Leader, and the Iranian government announced 40 days of mourning following the strikes.

Khamenei was killed while at his office. NBC News outlined that Iran’s state news agency IRIB reported that he “was martyred at his workplace in the Beit Rahbari,” adding that “he was carrying out his assigned duties and present at his place of work at the moment of martyrdom.” 

An Israeli military official told reporters that the U.S. and Israeli militaries spent months building up an extensive target bank in Iran and were looking for the right moment to strike when senior Iranian officials would gather.

Khamenei had held the supreme leadership of the Islamic Republic since 1989. He was the central figure in Iran’s military and nuclear strategy and the country’s highest political and religious authority.

Iran killed thousands of its own citizens under Khamenei’s rule, including more than 7,000 people killed during weeks of mass protests that started in late December 2025, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister were also killed in an airstrike targeting a meeting of the country’s defense council, Iranian state television reported Sunday.

Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed at the meeting alongside the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and security adviser Ali Shamkhani, CBS News reported.

Nasirzadeh had served as Iran’s top civilian defense leader since 2024. Prior to that role, he served as deputy chief of staff for the conventional Iranian Armed Forces and had previously commanded the Iranian air force until 2021.

Ali Shamkhani led Iran’s Defense Council, a body established in August 2025 after the June war to shape military wartime strategy. He had previously led the National Security Council and had once commanded Iran’s navy. Shamkhani had already sustained severe injuries in an Israeli airstrike the prior year.

Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was also confirmed killed. Pakpour had been appointed head of the IRGC after his predecessor, Hossein Salami, died in the June 2025 strikes on Iran. He had previously commanded the IRGC’s ground forces.

Initial strikes were believed to have killed roughly 40 Iranian officials in total, according to sources who spoke with CBS News.

President Trump told NBC News that “a large amount of leadership” had been killed.

“I don’t mean like two people,” he said.

NBC reported that he also stated that “most” of Iran’s senior leadership is “gone,” saying, “The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone.”

Among those believed to have survived the strikes are Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, 71, who was elected in 2024 on a platform of political and economic reforms, and Ali Larijani, 67, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 64, Speaker of Iran’s Parliament and a former IRGC aerospace force commander, is also presumed alive.

A three-member transitional council has been formed to oversee succession of the supreme leadership, consisting of President Pezeshkian, Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a member of a constitutional watchdog body.

The council holds the powers of the supreme leader until the Guidance Council selects a replacement, said NBC.

NPR noted that Iran responded to the strikes with missile and drone launches targeting multiple countries. Air raid sirens wailed across Israel. Countries across the Gulf also reported Iranian strikes, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. 

Iranian state media declared a 40-day mourning period and a week of public holidays following Khamenei’s death, reported CNBC.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the military for the strikes. “He who acted to destroy Israel — has been destroyed,” Katz wrote on X. “Justice has been served, and the axis of evil has suffered a mortal blow.”

President Trump posted on Truth Social: “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” and warned Iran against retaliating further.

NBC reported that tens of thousands of regime supporters gathered in Tehran’s Revolution Square to mourn Khamenei, chanting “God is great!” while Iranian officials promised revenge, with one vowing to deliver “terrifying blows” to make the U.S. and Israel “beg for mercy.”

Meanwhile, others inside Iran appeared to welcome the strikes, the outlet further noted. Young people in a city outside Tehran took to the streets to dance when news broke that Khamenei was dead. 

Trump stated that a diplomatic solution to the remaining tensions is “easily” possible. “Much easier now than it was a day ago, obviously, because they are getting beat up badly,” Trump told CBS News.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night on the exact heavy toll on Iran’s leaders. The full list of who is dead and who is presumed alive can be found here along with photos.