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Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who once said "Israel must be wiped off the map," was killed by Israeli airstrikes, according to the Israeli media outlet Ma'ariv.
Ahmadinejad was reportedly under house arrest at the time of his death, according to the outlet. Iranian authorities didn't provide an immediate confirmation following the report.
Ahmadinejad served as Iran's sixth president from 2005 to 2013, having previously served as mayor of Tehran before defeating establishment figure Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a runoff. The former president was notorious in the West having hosted the conference 'A World Without Zionism' widely viewed as a platform for Holocaust denial, which he quoted Iran's founding leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, who referred to the country as "the occupying regime of Jerusalem" and a "disgraceful cancerous growth" that "must be wiped off the map."
Three U.S. service members were killed and five others were seriously wounded as part of "Operation Epic Fury," the major combat operation in Iran that also resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
"As of 9:30 am ET, March 1, three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury. Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty. Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing. The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified," the U.S. Central Command wrote on its X account Sunday (March 1).
It's not clear where the three U.S. service members' deaths took place. The Iranian regime gave a public warning claiming it was preparing to launch “the most devastating offensive operation in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces" against U.S. bases at any moment while confirming the death of Khamenei during an attack by American and Israeli force.
“The most devastating offensive operation in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces will begin toward the occupied territories and American terrorist bases in just moments,” the regime said via the semi-official Fars News Agency at around 6:15 a.m. local time.
Iran has launched retaliatory attacks on Israeli and American assets in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Oman in the hours following reports of Khamenei's death.