Amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, the White House has said that certain former Iranian leaders were targeted because they “lied” during negotiations with the United States.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Some of the previous leaders are no longer on this planet because they deceived the United States and misled us in negotiations, which the president found unacceptable. That is why many of the previous leaders were killed.”
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The comments indicate a tougher US position, signalling that Washington views past diplomatic dealings with Tehran as misleading, even as the conflict intensifies.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that US President Donald Trump had Iranian leaders killed during negotiations because he disapproved of their approach. She said the leaders “lied to the United States” and “strung us along,” calling it unacceptable, and added that some of them are now “no longer on planet Earth,” directly connecting their deaths to their actions in the talks.
Trump stated on Sunday that the conflict had achieved “regime change” and that “we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before.”
However, several key Iranian figures have survived, and the Islamic Republic has demonstrated resilience by quickly replacing deceased leaders while continuing its conflict with the US and Israel.
Key Iranian leaders killed in Iran-US war
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reportedly killed in the opening hour of the war on 28 February, during a strike on a meeting of senior officials in Tehran. The attack also reportedly killed his daughter-in-law, daughter, and at least one grandchild. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei
Ali Khamenei has yet to be buried, although Mojtaba has said in a written statement he saw the body, AFP reported.
Security chief Ali Larijani
The killing of Larijani, who, despite not being a cleric, was a pillar of the system for decades, was likely the biggest loss to the Islamic Republic after the death of Ali Khamenei.
Larijani was killed on 17 March in an Israeli strike, reportedly in the Tehran region, which also killed family members.
The previous week, he had defiantly walked through public streets in Tehran during a pro-government rally.
Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Pakpour
Pakpour, previously head of the Guards’ ground forces, took over as commander-in-chief in June 2025 after his predecessor Hossein Salami was killed in Israel’s 12-day war against Iran.
He was killed on the first day of the war and has been replaced by former interior and defence minister Ahmad Vahidi.
Guard’s naval chief Alireza Tangsiri
Alireza Tangsiri was a veteran of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War and one of the most senior figures in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, serving as its naval commander since 2018.
In that role, he was a key military leader for nearly a decade, responsible for Iran’s maritime strategy, including actions in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically critical waterway for global oil trade, before being killed in an airstrike during the ongoing conflict in 2026.
Israel’s defence minister described him as the “man who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz”.
Adviser Ali Shamkhani
Shamkhani, a mainstay of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces since the 1980s, was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war. He was given a public funeral in Tehran’s Tajrish Square and reportedly buried without his head, as reported by AFP.
He had been severely wounded, and initially reported dead, in a strike during Israel’s June war against Iran, but later re-emerged.
Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib
A cleric, Khatib, was killed by an Israeli strike in Tehran early on 18 March. As Iran’s intelligence minister since 2021, he was accused by rights groups of playing a key role in the suppression of protests.
Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh
A veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Nasirzadeh had served as defence minister since 2024. He was also killed in a strike on the first day of the war.
Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani
Soleimani led the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force under the Revolutionary Guards, known for its role in suppressing protests, according to human rights organisations. He was killed in an airstrike on 17 March.
Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini
Brigadier‑General Ali Mohammad Naini, the spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed at dawn Friday in what the Guards described as a “cowardly” joint attack by the United States and Israel, according to Iranian state media.
Naini had recently praised Iran’s missile production, saying it “deserves a perfect score” and emphasised that it continued despite the war, before he was killed in the strikes.
Head of military office Mohammad Shirazi
Killed on the first day of the war, Shirazi held the key role of coordinating among the different branches of Iran’s security forces at the office of the supreme leader.
Armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi
Some of the previous leaders are no longer on this planet because they deceived the United States and misled us in negotiations.
Mousavi, who was killed on the first day of the war, had only assumed his role—a senior position coordinating between the Guards and the regular army- in June 2025, following the death of his predecessor, Mohammad Bagheri, during the 12-day conflict.
