A high-ranking Iranian military figure, Mohammad-Ali Fathalizadeh, was killed on Wednesday during a coordinated strike conducted by United States and Israeli forces. Fathalizadeh, also known as General Mohammad Ali Fathali-Zadeh, commanded the IRGC’s elite “Fatehin” unit and was among the latest leaders of Iran’s regime targeted in the conflict.
The report of his death was confirmed on Thursday by Iran’s Defa Press, a media outlet linked to the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, and cited by Xinhua.
The strike comes amid the broader US-Israel campaign against Iran, which began on February 28, 2026. The operation initially focused on Iran’s nuclear facilities, missile infrastructure, and senior regime leadership. According to multiple sources—including Wikipedia’s casualty list (as of early April 2026), Axios, Reuters, Times of Israel, and the Associated Press—approximately 40 top Iranian officials have been killed since the start of the conflict.
Those targeted include Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was reportedly killed in the first strike on his Tehran compound, as well as several high-ranking military and political figures: IRGC commander-in-chief Mohammad Pakpour, Armed Forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani. Numerous deputy ministers, intelligence leaders, and senior IRGC commanders were also among the casualties.
While some news outlets describe the number of leaders lost as “dozens,” President Trump and reports from The Gateway Pundit have cited figures of 40 or more, with a few U.S. and Israeli sources suggesting the toll could be higher when including a broader set of senior commanders. The consensus among most major reporting remains that around 40 of Iran’s highest-ranking officials have been killed.