Iranian state television reported on Friday that Ali Mohammad Naini, spokesperson of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had been killed in strikes carried out by the United States and Israel.
Senior IRGC Official Among Latest Casualties
Naini, who also served as deputy head of the IRGC’s public relations wing, is among the most senior figures reported killed in the ongoing conflict. His death marks a significant development, as it signals that high-ranking members within Iran’s military establishment are increasingly coming under direct attack, reported Reuters.
The strikes, attributed to joint U.S. and Israeli operations, are part of an intensifying military campaign across the region.
Who Was Ali Mohammad Naini?
Ali Mohammad Naini was a second brigadier general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and served as its spokesperson and deputy of public relations under Hossein Salami beginning in 2024. In addition to his military role, he was a professor of social sciences and a faculty member at Imam Hossein University.
Naini became a notable figure internationally after the United Kingdom sanctioned him following the October 2024 Iranian strikes on Israel. His career combined both military leadership and academic work, positioning him as a prominent voice for the IRGC until his death in 2026.
Expanding Scope of Targeted Strikes
The reported killing highlights a more serious the nature of the conflict. The death of Ali Mohammad Naini came only days after Iran confirmed the killing of its Intelligence Minister, Esmail Khatib, in an Israeli overnight airstrike on Wednesday. Khatib’s death marked the third senior Iranian official eliminated by Israel within a 24-hour span, following the earlier strikes that killed top security chief Ali Larijani and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani. Iran has officially acknowledged all three losses.
These developments unfolded as the war between Iran and Israel entered its third week, a conflict triggered by the joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28 that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The rapid succession of high-profile assassinations underscores the escalating intensity of the confrontation and the targeting of Iran’s senior leadership.
