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Iran lost its Supreme Leader, armed forces chief of staff, IRGC commander and defence minister in a single morning on 28 February 2026, and its command architecture did not fail. The reason is structural. Article 110 reserves three posts to the Supreme Leader; beneath them, thirty two provincial corps commands are filled by the IRGC chief commander. Tehran refilled that one post within twenty four hours, while no Supreme Leader held office, restoring the appointment chain for the entire territorial force.

The Chief of the General Staff has been vacant for one hundred and fifty four days. We assess with medium confidence this is revealed preference rather than paralysis: nothing operational depends on it, and Khatam al-Anbiya has absorbed the coordinating function.

The damage is real but sits below the organisation chart, in provincial formations showing supply failure and desertion. Continued decapitation targets the part of the system that regenerates.