Iran Confirms Death of Khamenei's Chief Adviser and Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander

Ali Shamkhani and Major General Mohammad Pakpour. (Kolase/Fauzi/VOI)

JAKARTA - Iranian state media confirmed the death of the main adviser to the country's supreme leader and the highest commander of the elite forces of the State of the Mullahs in an attack launched by Israel and the United States.

Iran's state-affiliated news agency reported the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's chief adviser and Secretary of the Iranian Defense Council Admiral Ali Shamkhani, as well as the Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Pakpour in Saturday's attack, quoted by CNN (1/3).

Admiral Shamkhani and Majyen Pakpour were among those claimed by Israel to have been killed in Saturday's attack, which also included Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ABC reported.

There is the Head of the Military Bureau of the Supreme Leader of Iran Mohammad Shirazi, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Head of the Defense Research and Innovation Organization (SPND) Hossein Jabal Amelian, former SPND Chairman Reza Mozaffarinia and Intelligence Chief of the Khatam Al-Anbiya Command Saleh Asadi.

Ali Shamkhani has been one of the key figures in Iran's power structure for the past few decades. He served in the Ministry of Defense and IRGC before occupying the country's highest national security post for a decade since 2013.

Israel claimed to have killed him in an attack during the June 12 conflict. It was later revealed that Shamkhani survived and returned to a key position on the Defense Council late last year.

Shamkhani, who ran for president in 2001, is a rising star in Iranian diplomacy, widely known among foreign policy circles in Washington and Europe.

Shamkhani represented Iran in talks mediated by China with Saudi officials that led the two countries to agree to re-establish diplomatic relations after years of hostility.

Although he was suddenly replaced in mid-2023, he remained a close aide to Khamenei and provided advice when Iran re-entered nuclear talks with the US President Donald Trump's administration.

Meanwhile, Major General Pakpour was promoted to lead the IRGC, following the death of his predecessor Hossein Salami in last year's 12-day conflict.

Major General Pakpour joined the IRGC immediately after its formation following the revolution in 1979. He later became the head of the IRGC Ground Forces before being appointed to the top position.

In a statement early Sunday, a senior commander said the IRGC's structure "is designed in such a way that immediately after a commander falls, a competent and capable individual is replaced," state-affiliated Fars news agency reported.

It is known that the IRGC is Iran's elite military wing which is only responsible to the Supreme Leader. Its task is to fight enemies abroad to quell protests at home.