Tehran/Tel Aviv: Israel, on Tuesday, targeted Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and advisor to the country’s former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
While it is not clear whether Larijani was killed or injured, Israel claimed that it succeeded in eliminating Basij paramilitary force commander Gholamreza Soleimani in an overnight strike.
The Basij is accused of violently suppressing anti-regime protests, and is believed to be responsible for countless deaths of Iranian civilians.
Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said “significant elimination achievements” had been recorded overnight that could affect the course of the campaign.
“In a precise strike in Tehran: IDF eliminates the commander of the Basij unit. Guided by precise intelligence from Military Intelligence, the Air Force conducted a targeted strike yesterday in the heart of Tehran, eliminating Gholam
Reza Soleimani, commander of the Basij unit over the past six years,” Lt Gen Zamir posted on X.
“Soleimani’s elimination adds to the dozens of senior commanders from the armed forces of the Iranian terror regime who have been eliminated throughout the operation, and it represents another severe blow to the regime’s security command and control systems,” the post added.
Larijani’s fate is unclear though. Considered extremely high in the pecking order, he was the man tasked with steering Iran’s security strategy. He was also Tehran’s face all through the conflict, as reported by India Today.
If Larijani is eliminated, it will further cripple the Iranian leadership that lost Ali Khamenei on the first day of the strikes. His successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, is also believed to be injured.
Some believe that Larijani is virtually the No 2 in Iran and has been playing a vital role in running the battered country alongside the transitional council. The development comes a day after he warned of a “conspiracy” by members of sex convict Jeffrey Epstein’s network of a 9/11-style incident to frame Iran.
Larijani, who previously led nuclear negotiations with the US, was last seen in Tehran on March 13 during a rally. Later that day, the US offered a reward of up to $10 million (Rs 92 crore) for information on senior Iranian officials, including Larijani.