Israeli defence minister Israel Katz on Tuesday, March 17, announced that two senior Iranian security chiefs, including Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, and General Gholam Reza Soleimani, head of the revolutionary guard’s Basij militia, were killed in overnight strikes.
Katz said in a statement, “Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council and the regime’s effective leader, has been eliminated.
“Throughout the years, Larijani was considered one of the most veteran and senior figures within the Iranian regime leadership and was a close associate of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“During the most recent wave of protests against the Iranian terror regime, Larijani personally oversaw the massacre that was carried out against Iranian protestors.”
The announcement comes less than three weeks after the United States (U.S)-Israeli airstrikes killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, triggering a regional war.
Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is now acting as the country’s leader, though his whereabouts and health remain unclear.
Israel confirmed that Soleimani was killed in a strike on Tehran on Monday.
The Israeli military stated that under Soleimani, the Basij paramilitary unit had conducted the main repression operations in Iran, employing severe violence, widespread arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators.
“Yesterday, the IDF targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past 6 years,” the Israeli defense forces wrote on X.
Under Soleimani, the Basij unit led the main repression operations in Iran, employing severe violence, widespread arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators.
Comments