Israel Kills Iran’s National Security Chief in Tehran Strike
Ali Akbar Ahmadian killed Israel strike Tehran 2026
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, that Israeli forces have killed Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and a primary architect of the regime’s military strategy. The announcement followed a “wide-scale wave of strikes” launched across the Iranian capital overnight, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated were designed to dismantle “terror regime infrastructure” and command centers. Ahmadian, a veteran of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who took over as national security chief in 2023, was reportedly targeted while at a high-level military facility in Tehran. According to official Israeli reports, the operation represents a major blow to the Iranian leadership, which has been under near-daily bombardment since the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign began on February 28.
The elimination of Ahmadian follows a period of significant institutional reshuffling within Tehran’s wartime government. In the weeks leading up to the strike, the SNSC had been supplemented by a newly formed Defense Council, to which the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had appointed Ahmadian as a key representative. Military intelligence sources indicate that Israel has systematically targeted the upper echelons of Iranian command, including the successful assassination of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the war’s opening day. Ahmadian’s death marks the second time the position of SNSC Secretary has become vacant in three weeks, following the earlier reported death of his predecessor and advisor, Ali Shamkhani, in previous strikes.
In response to the loss of its top security official, Tehran launched new salvos of missiles and drones toward Israel and its Gulf neighbors, with retaliatory strikes reported near Tel Aviv and the Sea of Galilee. The conflict has now entered its third week, with the Iranian Ministry of Health reporting over 1,200 deaths and widespread displacement within the capital. Global energy markets have reacted sharply to the escalating violence, with Brent crude prices surging past $106 per barrel as the Strait of Hormuz remains a primary theater of geopolitical tension. As the Israeli military steps up its bombardment of both Tehran and Beirut, Defense Minister Gallant warned that the campaign will continue until the “threat of Iranian aggression is permanently extinguished.”
