4 top Iranian military officials killed in US-Israeli strikes

By Mustafa Melih Ahishali and Sami Sohta

ISTANBUL (AA) - Iran’s armed forces said on Sunday that four senior military officials were killed in US-Israeli attacks on the country that started a day earlier, Fars news agency reported.

A statement said the officials were targeted while attending a meeting of the Defense Council.

The statement added that those killed in the strikes are Chief of the General Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Aziz Nasirzadeh.

Names of others commanders killed would be announced later, the military said.

Earlier, Iranian authorities had confirmed the deaths of Shamkhani and Pakpour. Besides the top commanders, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was also assassinated. A 40-day mourning period has been declared and an interim council named till a successor is chosen.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul