Israel claims killing of Iran security chief Ali Larijani
Muhammad Naeem:
Islamabad:Israel has announced that its forces carried out targeted overnight airstrikes that it says killed two senior Iranian figures, including Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani and Basij paramilitary commander Gholamreza Soleimani, in a significant escalation of the ongoing conflict.”
However, Iran has not confirmed the deaths, keeping uncertainty around the high-profile claims.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that the military had killed Ali Larijani, Iran’s security chief and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, in overnight airstrikes.
Katz also claimed that Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Basij militia, was killed in the same wave of strikes. The Israeli military said the operations were based on precise intelligence and targeted senior Iranian regime figures.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that he had ordered the “elimination of senior officials of the Iranian regime.”
No confirmation from Iran
Despite the claims, there has been no official confirmation from Tehran.
Iranian state media published a handwritten note attributed to Larijani, commemorating 84 Iranian sailors killed in a US attack on a naval vessel. The note, shared on his social media, was linked to funerals expected on Tuesday, but it did not clearly confirm whether Larijani is alive.
Larijani was last seen publicly on Friday, attending Quds Day rallies in Tehran alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian.
If Larijani’s death is confirmed, he would be the most senior Iranian official killed since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was reportedly killed on the first day of US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28.
Larijani has long been a key figure in Iran’s political system, previously serving as a nuclear negotiator and speaker of parliament, and remained a close ally of Khamenei.
Targeting of Basij leadership
Israeli officials and media reports also said strikes targeted Gholamreza Soleimani and other senior Basij figures, although the outcome remains unclear.
The Basij is a paramilitary force under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), often deployed to suppress protests and maintain internal security across Iran.
Soleimani, born in 1965, has been sanctioned by the United States, European Union, and others for his alleged role in suppressing dissent. The Basij has played a central role in crackdowns on protests, including the 2009 demonstrations and more recent anti-government unrest.
