Israel claims to have killed the president of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, in an attack by its army last night. Larijani has been one of the most powerful figures in the leadership of the Persian country after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the joint US-Israeli war on February 28.
The Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, was in charge of first making the announcement in a note collected by different international media, and subsequently, the Israeli Army has issued a statement in which it details that the air force carried out a “precise attack that ended the life” of Larijani, whom it describes as “leader in fact of the Iranian regime, while near Tehran.
So far there has been no confirmation from Iran and some state media have broadcast a few minutes after Katz’s announcement what they say is a handwritten message by Larijani, also published on the politician’s
“On the occasion of the funeral ceremony in honor of the brave members of the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran: their memory will always remain in the hearts of the Iranian people, and these martyrdoms will strengthen the foundation of the army of the Islamic Republic within the structure of the armed forces for many years. I ask Almighty God to grant these dear martyrs the highest ranks,” reads the note, which is undated.
“The Telegram message indicates that things are fine. There is no problem in this sense,” official Iranian sources tell elDiario.es, in apparent reference to Larijani’s message.
If confirmed, Larijani’s would be the most important assassination in the country since Khamenei’s. Former soldier of the Revolutionary Guard, the leader has been one of the most influential figures in the Persian country – for decades considered a pragmatist within the establishment– and it remains to be seen if his alleged death can hinder dialogue between the parties and the Iranian political leadership.
This Monday, Larijani questioned the governments of Muslim countries for not supporting Tehran in the current war, in a position that he saw as contrary to Islam, and stressed that the US and Israel are in a “strategic predicament.” The senior Iranian official launched a six-point message from his
The last time he appeared in public was last Friday, when he participated along with other officials and thousands of people in a march in the Iranian capital to challenge the threats to Iran and express his rejection of the war against his country.
A commander of the Basij milia murdered
According to a statement from Katz’s office reported by Israeli media, the Israeli minister indicated: “Larijani and the commander of the Basij were eliminated during the night and met with the person responsible for the annihilation program, Khamenei, and with all the eliminated members of the axis of evil, in the depths of hell.”
“The Israel Defense Forces continue to operate in Iran with great force, against regime targets, suppressing missile launch capabilities and destroying key strategic infrastructure in all areas, setting Iran back decades,” Katz added. For their part, Israeli forces have noted that the “elimination” of Larijani “adds to that of dozens of senior commanders and leaders of the Iranian terrorist regime, who were eliminated by the IDF during Operation Roaring Lion, and constitutes a new blow to the Iranian regime’s ability to manage and coordinate hostile activities against the State of Israel.”
The Israeli Army had previously assured this Tuesday that its air force killed last night “in a precise attack” in Tehran the commander of the Iranian Basij paramilitary force – subordinate to the Revolutionary Guard Corps –, Gholamreza Soleimani.
“Yesterday (Monday), the Israeli Air Force, acting on intelligence information from the IDF, targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who served as commander of the Basij unit for the past six years,” the Israel Defense Forces say in a statement.
Meanwhile, the press department of the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a brief statement on Tuesday stating that the leader of the Jewish country has ordered “the elimination of senior officials of the Iranian regime”, accompanied by a photo of the president on the phone next to a military commander.
The Israel Defense Forces announced this Tuesday in a statement that on Monday they simultaneously attacked Iranian “regime infrastructure” in the cities of Tehran, Shiraz (center-south of the country) and Tabriz (northwest).
“Dozens of Air Force fighter planes, guided by Military Intelligence, completed a large-scale air attack yesterday (Monday) (…) Dozens of munitions were dropped on the headquarters of the security agencies,” the IDF detailed in its note on the impacts in Tehran, which included that, among the facilities affected, was the Ministry of Intelligence and headquarters of the Basij militia.
Source: www.eldiario.es
