Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Wikipedia)
Iran’s hardline former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was killed in an airstrike during first day of the war.
By World Israel News Staff
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran, was killed in an airstrike on Saturday, Iranian news sites reported Sunday.
According to the reports, Ahmadinejad was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in the Narmak neighborhood of Tehran.
Ahmadinejad, referred to many as the “world’s #1 antisemite,” was outspoken about his desire to “wipe Israel off the map.”
The strike on Ahmadinejad’s home was first reported on Saturday, with satellite imagery confirming his home was destroyed.
However, the former president was initially listed as missing, with no reports regarding his condition.
Iran’s sixth president, Ahmadinejad served from 2005 to 2013 but continued to influence policy as a member of the Expediency Discernment Council from 2013 until his assassination.
As a populist hardliner, Ahmadinejad’s controversial term as president was closely associated with stricter political repression, limits on dissent, and confrontations with reformists and critics.
His 2009 reelection, widely seen by many as fraudulent, triggered the Green Movement protests – the largest internal challenge to the Islamic Republic up to that point – and the state responded with mass arrests, violence, and a broad crackdown.
Internationally, Ahmadinejad’s presidency was marked by increased confrontation with the West. Ties with the United States and much of Europe deteriorated sharply amid Iran’s refusal to accept limits on its nuclear program, while sanctions intensified and Iran became more isolated.
According to a report by CBS News, some 40 senior Iranian officials were killed during the first day of the joint Israeli-American strikes on Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the US and Operation Roaring Lion by the IDF.
Israel’s military has identified eight senior Iranian officials killed in IDF airstrikes on Saturday, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, Khamenei’s longtime adviser Ali Shamkhani, and the chief of the Iranian military’s weapons of mass destruction research organization, Hossein Jabal Amelian.
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The two countries have also held joint training exercises between their militaries.