Kamal Kharrazi, Iran’s former foreign minister and a senior adviser to the country’s leadership, died Thursday night from injuries sustained in a targeted airstrike on his Tehran home, according to Iranian state media. The 81-year-old diplomat was critically wounded on April 1 when US-Israeli forces struck his residence in the Iranian capital. His wife was killed instantly in the attack. After more than a week of fighting for his life in the hospital, Kharrazi succumbed to his injuries on April 9.
At the time of his death, Kharrazi headed Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, an influential advisory body that reports directly to the supreme leader and shapes the country’s foreign policy strategy. He served as Iran’s foreign minister from 1997 to 2005, navigating key periods in the Islamic Republic’s international relations. Kharrazi was one of Iran’s most experienced diplomats and had been a close adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Reports indicate that he was recently involved in Pakistani-mediated efforts to arrange potential talks between Iranian officials and US Vice President JD Vance, even as hostilities escalated.
His assassination is a significant blow to Iran’s diplomatic establishment and comes amid an ongoing US-Israeli military campaign that began on February 28, as described by Iranian sources. The conflict has already claimed more than 2,000 lives, including Ayatollah Khamenei himself, according to Iranian media.
The targeted killing of such a high-profile diplomatic figure marks a dramatic escalation in regional tensions. Kharrazi’s death removes one of Iran’s most seasoned voices in international affairs at a crucial time when diplomatic channels could have provided a path toward de-escalation. Iranian officials have not yet announced funeral arrangements or indicated how the government plans to respond to the killing.