Conflicting reports trail alleged killing of ex-Iranian President Ahmadinejad in Israeli strikes

By Johnson Arua

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a controversial hardline leader associated with Iran’s nuclear programme and combative foreign policy stance, has reportedly been killed during Israeli airstrikes inside Iran on Saturday.

The claim, which has circulated widely on social media and some foreign news platforms, was attributed to Israeli outlet Ma’ariv and cited by the New York Post.

The reports alleged that Ahmadinejad, said to have been under house arrest, died in a targeted strike on his residence.

An Israeli platform identified as the “Israeli War Room” also referenced Iranian media sources in reporting the alleged development.

In a statement, it described Ahmadinejad as a former president of Iran’s “Islamist regime” and noted that he had been sanctioned by the United States in 2023 over allegations related to the wrongful detention of American citizens.

As of the time of filing this report, there has been no official confirmation from Iranian authorities regarding Ahmadinejad’s reported death.

Meanwhile, several other high-profile Iranian officials were also named in reports as having been killed in the Israeli military operations.

Those listed include:
Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics,
Mohammad Shirazi, Chief of the Military Bureau of the Supreme Leader,
Ali Shamkhani, Supreme Leader’s Adviser for Security Affairs and Secretary of the Defence Council, Hossein Jabal Amelian, Chairman of SPND, Mohammad Pakpour, Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Reza Mozafari-Nia, former Chairman of SPND.

Independent verification of these claims remains ongoing, as tensions continue to escalate between Israel and Iran.