Tel Aviv/Tehran, (UNI) The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) today said it carried out overnight strikes in Tehran which reportedly eliminated two high-level Iranian officials in a decapitation strike, which include the commander of the Basij paramilitary force, and the Supreme National Security Council’s chief, Ali Larijani.
Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz had claimed that Larijani had been eliminated, though his statement remained unconfirmed by the IDF at the time.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to continue pursuing the leadership of the terror and oppression regime in Iran,” Katz said in a statement and stated that Israel would update President Trump on the killing of the two senior Iranian figures “when morning breaks in Washington”.
The military said that Larijani “served as the de facto leader of the Iranian terror regime”, following the recent killing of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Larijani playing a key role in coordinating strategy, directing international activity and overseeing internal security.
“For years, Larijani was considered one of the most senior and veteran figures in the leadership of the Iranian terror regime and was close to the regime’s leader, Ali Khamenei,” the IDF said.
Reporting Larijani’s alleged death, Israel described the operation as a significant blow to Iran’s command structure, with Katz saying it formed part of a broader effort to target the country’s leadership.
“We have instructed the IDF to continue pursuing the leadership of the regime,” he said, adding that President Donald Trump would be updated.
Releasing a statement on social media, the IDF reporting the Basij commander’s death wrote “The Israeli Air Force, acting on IDF intelligence, targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past six years.”
The Israeli military further accused the Basij – under Soleimani’s leadership – of spearheading “the main repression operations, employing severe violence, widespread arrests and the use of force against civilian demonstrators” to crush the anti-government protests which gripped the Islamic Republic back in January.
Hailing the operation, the IDF called Soleimani’s currently unconfirmed assassination “an additional significant blow to the regime’s security command-and-control structures” and it vowed to “continue to operate with determination against commanders of the Iranian terror regime”.
Israeli PMO’s office, meanwhile, posted a photo on social media of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone, with a message saying only: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders the elimination of senior Iranian regime officials.”
Despite the Israeli claims, the status of the killings remains unconfirmed, as Iranian state media has to verify Larijani or Soleimani’s status, leaving all claims over the Israeli decapitation strike unconfirmed.
