Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran’s minister of defense and armed forces logistics, died on Feb. 28, 2026. He was 62. Reuters, citing two sources familiar with Israel’s military operations and a regional source, reported that he was killed in Israeli attacks. Iran had not officially confirmed his death.
Nasirzadeh took office in August 2024 after Iran’s parliament approved the cabinet of President Masoud Pezeshkian. He won 281 votes of confidence, the highest total among Pezeshkian’s nominees, and assumed a portfolio central to defense procurement, logistics, and military planning as tensions across the region intensified.
Before joining the cabinet, Nasirzadeh held senior roles across Iran’s armed forces, with a career rooted in airpower. He commanded the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force from 2018 to 2021, and in 2021 was appointed a deputy to the chief of staff for Iran’s armed forces. A profile by the U.S. Institute of Peace said he graduated from Air Force Pilot School, trained in Iran and Pakistan, and served in the Iran-Iraq War as part of an F-14 tactical aircraft battalion. The profile also described later assignments, including military attaché in Italy and deputy head of Air Force Intelligence.
As defense minister, he was closely associated with Iran’s push to modernize under sanctions, emphasizing airpower readiness, missile forces, and the expanding role of drones and AI-related systems, as well as avenues for defense cooperation and exports. In June 2025, he traveled to Qingdao, China, to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting of defense ministers.
Across his leadership posts in the Air Force, the armed forces general staff, and the defense ministry, Nasirzadeh became a prominent figure in shaping Iran’s modernization priorities and resources during a period of sustained regional confrontation.