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The Iranian Leaders Killed in Israeli-US War

Alireza Tangsiri is the latest top Iranian security official to be killed in the conflict. SEPAH NEWS/AFP
Alireza Tangsiri is the latest top Iranian security official to be killed in the conflict. SEPAH NEWS/AFP
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The Iranian Leaders Killed in Israeli-US War

Alireza Tangsiri is the latest top Iranian security official to be killed in the conflict. SEPAH NEWS/AFP
Alireza Tangsiri is the latest top Iranian security official to be killed in the conflict. SEPAH NEWS/AFP

Over the course of the US-Israeli war on Iran, waves of airstrikes killed an entire echelon of the Iranian republic's political and military elite, starting with supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

President Donald Trump had claimed in March that the campaign had achieved "regime change", but Iran showed resilience in rapidly replacing killed leaders and keeping up the war against the US and Israel.

With Washington and Tehran agreeing on a deal announced Monday to halt the conflict, here is a recap of some of the key figures killed in the war:

- Supreme leader Ali Khamenei -

Khamenei, Iran's number one since 1989, was killed in the first hour of the war on February 28 in a strike on a meeting of senior officials in Tehran that also left his daughter-in-law, daughter and at least one grandchild dead, according to reports.

His low-profile son Mojtaba survived -- although reportedly with injuries -- and took over as supreme leader. He has yet to make a public appearance.

Ali Khamenei has yet to be buried, with state media reporting on Saturday that his funeral will take place on July 9 in his hometown, the northeastern city of Mashhad, following three days of funeral ceremonies in Tehran and another in the holy city of Qom.

- Security chief Ali Larijani -

The killing of Larijani, who despite not being a cleric was a pillar of the system for decades, was likely the biggest loss to the Iranian republic after the death of Ali Khamenei.

Larijani was killed on March 17 in an Israeli strike, reportedly in the Tehran region and which also killed family members.

The previous week, he had defiantly walked in public in Tehran at a pro-government rally.

- Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Pakpour -

Pakpour, previously head of the Guards' ground forces, took over as commander-in-chief in June 2025 after his predecessor Hossein Salami was killed in Israel's 12-day war against Iran.

He was killed on the first day of the war and has been replaced by former interior and defense minister Ahmad Vahidi.

- Guards naval chief Alireza Tangsiri -

A veteran of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, Tangsiri was one of the longest-serving senior figures in the Revolutionary Guards as the head of its navy since 2018 and one of its highest-profile faces within the Iranian republic.

Israel's defense minister described him as the "man who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz".

- Adviser Ali Shamkhani -

Shamkhani, a mainstay of the Iranian republic's armed forces since the 1980s, was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war.

He was given a public funeral in Tehran's Tajrish Square.

He had been severely wounded, and initially reported dead, in a strike during Israel's June war against Iran but later re-emerged.

- Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib -

A cleric, Khatib was killed by an Israeli strike in Tehran early on March 18.

As Iran's intelligence minister since 2021, he was accused by rights groups of playing a key role in the suppression of protests.

- Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh -

A veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Nasirzadeh had served as defense minister since 2024.

He was also killed in a strike on the first day of the war.

- Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani -

Soleimani headed the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary group that is a branch of the Revolutionary Guards and notorious among rights groups for suppressing protests.

He was killed in an airstrike on March 17.

- Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini -

Naini was killed in March in what the Guards described as a "cowardly" attack by the United States and Israel.

Just before his death was confirmed, the Fars news agency issued a statement quoting Naini as saying Iran's missile production deserved a "perfect score" and was continuing despite the war.

- Head of military office Mohammad Shirazi -

Killed on the opening day of the war, Shirazi had the crucial job of coordinating between the various branches of the Iranian security forces at the office of supreme leader.

- Armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi -

Mousavi, killed on the first day of the war, had only taken up his post -- a senior position that coordinates between the Guards and the regular army -- in June 2025 following the death of his predecessor Mohammad Bagheri in the 12-day war.

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Four Missing as Torrential Rain Pounds Southern Taiwan

Taiwanese soldiers offer prayers in heavy rain next to the tombstones of fallen soldiers during a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the August 23rd artillery battle between Taiwan and China, in Kinmen, Taiwan, 23 August 2026. (EPA)
Taiwanese soldiers offer prayers in heavy rain next to the tombstones of fallen soldiers during a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the August 23rd artillery battle between Taiwan and China, in Kinmen, Taiwan, 23 August 2026. (EPA)
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Four Missing as Torrential Rain Pounds Southern Taiwan

Taiwanese soldiers offer prayers in heavy rain next to the tombstones of fallen soldiers during a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the August 23rd artillery battle between Taiwan and China, in Kinmen, Taiwan, 23 August 2026. (EPA)
Taiwanese soldiers offer prayers in heavy rain next to the tombstones of fallen soldiers during a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the August 23rd artillery battle between Taiwan and China, in Kinmen, Taiwan, 23 August 2026. (EPA)

Four people are missing after torrential rain lashed southern and eastern Taiwan on Monday, closing offices and schools, with authorities bracing for a typhoon to hit the island later in the week.

A low-pressure system has hovered over southern Taiwan for the past few days, bringing heavy rain and causing flooding.

The local governments of the two cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan, home to ‌more than ‌four million people, ordered offices and ‌schools ⁠closed, as did ⁠the counties of Pingtung and Chiayi and the mountainous eastern counties of Taitung and Hualien.

The Kaohsiung government said it expected cumulative rainfall over the five-day period of the low-pressure system to exceed 1.3 meters (4.3 feet), nearly half what the city typically ⁠expects in an entire year.

Taiwan's fire ‌department said four people ‌were missing in the floodwaters - three in Hualien and ‌one in Tainan.

TSMC, the world's largest contract ‌chipmaker, said in a statement it had completed routine heavy rain preparation procedures at all its Taiwan factories, which were operating normally.

TSMC has factories in both Tainan and ‌Kaohsiung and is building new facilities in Chiayi country.

Taiwan Railway said there would ⁠be disruptions ⁠on the main east coastline and trains to and from Kaohsiung and Taitung with express services cancelled and local trains dependent on weather conditions.

"If you've got nothing on, for goodness sake don't go out," Taitung county chief April Yao wrote on her Facebook page.

Taiwan's Central Weather Administration said separately that Typhoon Saudel, currently heading towards Japan's southern Okinawa region, is expected to pass by the northern part of Taiwan early on Friday before reaching the eastern coast of China.

World

Türkiye Takes First Steps to Integrate PKK Members

A law passed by the Turkish parliament on August 10 allows for the conditional return of PKK members after their weapons have been verified. (AFP)
A law passed by the Turkish parliament on August 10 allows for the conditional return of PKK members after their weapons have been verified. (AFP)
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Türkiye Takes First Steps to Integrate PKK Members

A law passed by the Turkish parliament on August 10 allows for the conditional return of PKK members after their weapons have been verified. (AFP)
A law passed by the Turkish parliament on August 10 allows for the conditional return of PKK members after their weapons have been verified. (AFP)

Türkiye has begun implementing a law aimed at advancing the peace process based on the dissolution and disarmament of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the government calls the “Terror-Free Türkiye” process.

The 12-article Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, known as the process’s “framework law,” was passed by parliament on August 10 and approved by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan eight days later.

Implementation begins Monday with the inaugural meeting of the Monitoring, Coordination and Implementation Council, chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.

The council includes the justice, defense, interior and foreign ministers, as well as the intelligence chief and the secretaries-general of the presidency and National Security Council. It is tasked with verifying and endorsing the full dissolution and disarmament of the PKK.

Once the council issues a report confirming that process, the National Security Council will formally declare the end of the group’s existence, triggering a six-month process to reintegrate eligible members into Turkish society.

The one-time law will apply to PKK members in northern Iraq’s Qandil Mountains, Iran, Syria and Europe, as well as people prosecuted or wanted on charges of PKK membership and similar offenses.

Initial estimates put the number potentially covered at around 10,000, in addition to roughly 4,000 people held in Turkish prisons. Some 230 senior PKK leaders are excluded and are expected to reside in a safe area in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah province.

Yilmaz said the council’s first meeting would discuss its working mechanisms and rules, as well as subcommittees to be formed according to the needs of the disarmament and dissolution process.

The council may request the creation of subcommittees to follow up on specific tasks. Parliament will also form a monitoring committee chaired by Speaker Numan Kurtulmus and comprising lawmakers from parties represented in parliament, except the nationalist IYI Party, which opposes the process and rejects any dialogue with imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Ocalan’s role

Pervin Buldan, deputy speaker of parliament and a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), said a subcommittee called the “Disarmament and Politicization Committee” would also be established.

Buldan, a member of the Imrali delegation involved in talks between Ocalan and the state, said Ocalan would sit on the committee, which would organize the disarmament process and political integration.

The Turkish government has neither confirmed nor denied plans for such a committee.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, whose party is the main ally of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the People’s Alliance, had called in May for an office or committee dealing with politicization, with Ocalan given the role of “peace and politicization coordinator.”

Bahceli has also repeatedly called for Ocalan to be granted the “right to hope,” which could open the possibility of release under a legal principle recognized by the European Court of Human Rights for prisoners who have served 25 years of an aggravated life sentence. Ocalan has spent 27 years in prison on Imrali Island in western Türkiye.

Buldan said the Imrali delegation also raised the need for a women’s committee during its August 13 meeting with Erdogan and in talks with other government officials.

A new Kurdish movement

Buldan described the law as fundamental but said Ocalan regarded it as merely a framework for addressing the Kurdish issue and intended to discuss how it could be developed in subsequent stages.

She quoted Ocalan as saying during his latest meeting with the Imrali delegation on August 1 that he had made considerable efforts to reach the current stage and is seeking to move from armed struggle to political struggle.

According to Buldan, Ocalan has discussed a new party to replace the DEM Party, changes to its charter, program and members, and a broader Kurdish movement. She said those issues would be discussed at a DEM Party congress in September.

How will the weapons be handled?

The pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper reported that a registration and monitoring system would be established to prevent surrendered PKK weapons from being transferred elsewhere or falling into the hands of other terrorist organizations.

Citing unidentified sources, it said weapons and ammunition would be handed to the Turkish Defense Ministry under intelligence supervision. A detailed inventory would be compiled and compared with intelligence reports to determine whether any arms or ammunition were missing.

After technical inspection, surrendered weapons would be divided into three categories.

Unused weapons and ammunition, including conventional arms compatible with NATO standards and technologically advanced drones, could be added to the Turkish military’s arsenal after the necessary inspections.

Weapons incompatible with Turkish military systems, but usable by other countries, could be sold, with proceeds going to the state treasury or exchanged for usable weapons.

Equipment unsuitable for military use, but valuable as raw material, would be melted down and recycled for projects run by Türkiye’s environment, industry and agriculture ministries.

World

IRGC Says it Prepared Scenarios to Avoid US Sanctions

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman, Hossein Mohebi (center), speaks at a press conference in Kharg, west Tehran (IRNA)
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman, Hossein Mohebi (center), speaks at a press conference in Kharg, west Tehran (IRNA)
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IRGC Says it Prepared Scenarios to Avoid US Sanctions

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman, Hossein Mohebi (center), speaks at a press conference in Kharg, west Tehran (IRNA)
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman, Hossein Mohebi (center), speaks at a press conference in Kharg, west Tehran (IRNA)

Tehran has prepared economic scenarios, including expanding trade networks with regional allies to bypass tightening US sanctions, Hossein Mohebi, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman said on Sunday, adding that the results of the new measures would become evident in the near future.

His comments came shortly before US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced imposing new sanctions on Iran at dawn Monday, described as “the toughest in history.”

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Mohebi said: “We have scenarios to counter the adverse effects of the enemy’s war and can easily establish economic relations with countries.”

Cited by Tasnim, the IRGC spokesman said Iran is maintaining economic interactions “right under America’s nose” and bypassing US pressure, and that the results would become evident in the near future.

Mohebi, however, offered no specifics regarding nations, firms, or financial conduits used to bypass US restrictions, asserting only that Iran maintains broad alternative economic plans.

Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened “tremendous economic consequences” on any nation that does business with Iran, without offering details.

Mohebi said the economic warfare is nothing new, noting that the US has imposed sanctions on Iran’s economic sectors for 47 years.

The current US campaign, he added, is primarily aimed at shaping public perceptions and creating the belief that Washington is prevailing.

He described Trump’s announcement of a new economic campaign against Iran as an “implicit admission” that Washington had failed militarily.

Mohebi attributed a large part of his press conference to the nature of the ongoing war, saying the US-Iran war is multifaceted and not limited to military operations, but includes the economic and media sectors.

Touching on previous military confrontations with the US, Mohebi said that before the last war, Iranian forces had targeted “between 30 and 40 US warships” inside the Arabian Gulf.

He did not provide details of the names of the ships, the timing of the attacks or the extent of the damage. There is no independent evidence to prove his statements are correct.

The IRGC spokesperson said the US has no warships left in the Arabian Gulf, affirming a major retreat of American forces following the recent regional clashes. “US troops are now deployed 400 kilometers away from the Gulf waters,” he noted.

Addressing Washington, Mohebi said: “You mobilized all your military capabilities to close the Strait of Hormuz, but you couldn't.”

He warned that if Iran faces another threat, it could target energy pipelines, power plants and internet-connected systems.

Mohebi’s comments came as the Strait of Hormuz remains a focal point of the US-Iran conflict following the collapse of a sixty-day ceasefire negotiated in mid-June 2026.