PARIS, March 2 — The Israeli army announced yesterday the deaths of 40 senior Iranian officials, foremost among them the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a wave of US and Israeli attacks.

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 killed:

Ali Khamenei 

The death of Ayatollah Khamenei — who wielded near-absolute power over the country’s religious, political and military affairs — was announced on Saturday by US President Donald Trump, who described him as “one of the most evil people in history”.

Iran confirmed his death during the night, declaring 40 days of mourning and the start of a transition process. His daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were also killed in the strikes, according to Iranian media.

Mohammad Pakpour 

Mohammad Pakpour took over the leadership of the Revolutionary Guards —the ideological arm of the Iranian military — in June during the 12-day war with Israel, which the US briefly joined.

Ali Shamkhani 

Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to the Supreme Leader, was one of Iran’s highest-ranking security officials as head of the Defence Council.

Gholamreza Rezaian 

Gholamreza Rezaian was the national intelligence chief of the police.

Abdolrahim Mousavi 

Abdolrahim Moussavi was the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces.

Aziz Nasirzadeh 

Aziz Nasirzadeh was the defence minister. He was formerly commander of the Iranian air force and deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, before becoming minister in 2024.

Mohammad Shirazi 

Mohammad Shirazi was the head of Khamenei’s military office.

His death has not been confirmed by Iran, but he was among those named by Israel. — AFP