Iranian president mourns top officials killed in US-Israeli attacks

ISTANBUL

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that the country is mourning the loss of several senior officials killed in US-Israeli attacks.

Posting on the US social media platform X, he mourned Esmail Khatib, Iran’s intelligence minister; Ali Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council; and Aziz Nasirzadeh, the defense minister, along with some of their family members and aides.

The president said he was confident “their path will continue more firmly than before.”

Regional tensions have escalated as Israel and the United States have carried out a joint offensive on Iran since Feb. 28, which Tehran says has killed around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties, damaging infrastructure and disrupting global markets and aviation.