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Iran Confirms Death of Two Major Leaders, Shaking Up Nation’s Leadership

Mar 18, 2026 | 8:19 AM

PODCAST:

March 18, 2026 ~ Chris Renwick, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds talk with Saeed Khan, associate professor of teaching and Near Eastern studies at Wayne State University. They discuss Iran’s new Supreme Leader and his effect on the region.

IRAN ~ Iran has confirmed the assassinations of its security chief, Ali Larijani, and Basij force commander, Gholamreza Soleimani, marking another major escalation in the raging war across the Middle East.

These two leaders were killed on Tuesday, with Israel claiming it had also assassinated Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib on Wednesday, though Iran has yet to confirm this. The war began over three weeks ago when the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran, with the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei being killed shortly after it began.

Over 1,400 people have been killed in these airstrikes in Iran, with 13 U.S. troops killed by retaliatory Iranian strikes.

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