A coordinated military offensive by Israel and the United States has reportedly struck strategic targets inside Iran, marking a dramatic escalation in the long-running tensions over Tehran’s nuclear and military programmes. Multiple international news agencies report that the strikes were aimed at crippling Iranian leadership and operational capabilities, with senior Iranian military figures among the casualties in the opening waves of the operation.
Among the reported fatalities is **Brigadier General **Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran’s Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, who was killed during the February 28 operation, according to emerging battlefield reports. Nasirzadeh, a veteran military officer and former commander within Iran’s armed forces, was a key figure in Tehran’s defence establishment.
In addition, multiple sources indicate that the offensive has decimated top commanders within Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — including the IRGC’s highest operational commanders and strategic planners. In previous major engagements, Israel’s airstrikes killed figures such as IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami and Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, delivering a significant blow to Tehran’s military command structure.
The strikes, described by Israeli officials as pre-emptive, reflect a shared assessment by Tel Aviv and Washington that Iran’s advancing nuclear and ballistic missile programmes constitute an “existential threat.” Iran has condemned the attacks, vowed retaliation, and launched its own missile and drone strikes toward Israeli territory and U.S. bases in the region.
The impact of these high-level eliminations is profound: they disrupt Iran’s chain of command, weaken operational coherence within its armed forces, and signal a new phase of confrontation that could reshape the regional balance of power and further stymie diplomatic efforts.
