Iran’s Revolutionary Guard spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini, has been killed in joint US and Israeli strikes, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
His death came hours after he issued a defiant warning challenging US naval claims in the Gulf.
Naini “was martyred in the criminal cowardly terrorist attack by the American-Zionist side at dawn”, the IRGC said in a statement, as quoted by news agency AFP.
The development follows the elimination of several senior Iranian figures since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February.
On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the killing of Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib in Tehran, alleging his involvement in suppressing the 2022–23 Mahsa Amini protests and directing operations abroad.
Earlier this week, security chief Ali Larijani and Basij leader Gholamreza Soleimani were also killed. President Pezeshkian condemned the deaths, vowing resilience. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted Iran’s political system remains robust, stating that despite leadership losses, its institutional structure continues to function effectively.
prior to his elimination, the Revolutionary spokesperson had openly mocked Donald Trump’s assertion that Iran’s navy had been destroyed, daring Washington to deploy ships into the Persian Gulf. He had also insisted Iran continued producing missiles despite ongoing strikes.
“Didn’t Trump say that Iran’s navy has been destroyed? If so, let him send his ships into the Persian Gulf if he dares,” Naini was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
“Our missile industry deserves a perfect score… and there is no concern in this regard, because even under wartime conditions we continue missile production,” Naini was quoted in a media report
