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Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, has been reported dead.
According to state-owned Iran TV, Mousavi was killed alongside defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, revolutionary guards chief Mohammad Pakpour and Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran’s defence council, during the missile attack on the country on Saturday.
The officials were said to have been killed during a defence council meeting.
Mousavi was among some 30 key Iranian regime leaders and military chiefs reportedly targeted in Saturday’s joint US-Israel operation.
Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was also killed in the bombing.
Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were also killed in the military operation.
“The Supreme Leader of Iran Has Reached Martyrdom,” state broadcaster IRIB reported on Sunday morning.
“This great scholar and mujahid (fighter) sacrificed his life to lift Iran… and he is in the grand presence of martyrs above,” Mehr, the state affiliated news outlet, said.
Iran subsequently announced 40 days of mourning for Khamenei.
The United States and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran on Saturday. Israel had described the strike as “pre-emptive”.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the strike was part of a move to “remove threats against the State of Israel”.
He also announced a “special and permanent state of emergency” across the country, warning that Iran could respond with drones and ballistic missiles.
