Journalists have confirmed that among the deceased were an advisor to the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the secretary of Iran's Defense Council, Ali Shamkhani, as well as the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Pakpour.
The deaths of these leaders occurred on February 28 as a result of coordinated airstrikes by Israel and the United States. This was stated by both the Israel Defense Forces and U.S. President Donald Trump, who mentioned the neutralization of Iranian leaders during an interview with ABC News.
In response to these events, the IRGC announced its intention to take revenge on the United States and Israel for the assassination of the supreme leader. The organization also reported the beginning of "the most powerful offensive operation in the history of the Iranian armed forces."
