Israel’s military said it carried out a targeted overnight strike in Tehran on March 17 that killed Iran’s Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, reports Baltimore Chronicle via Times of Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the operation in an official statement.
Shortly afterward, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Larijani, whom he described as Iran’s “de facto leader,” had been killed as a result of the strike.
Iranian authorities had not issued any immediate public comment on the reported killing at the time of publication.
A source cited by Israel’s Channel 12 said intelligence indicating Larijani would arrive at one of his safe apartments in Tehran was received earlier on March 16. According to the source, Larijani was inside the location together with his son when the strike was carried out.
“He had no chance of surviving such a strike,” the Israeli television source said.
The IDF also reported that the same “precision strike” in Tehran killed Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of the Basij paramilitary force. The Basij operates under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is involved, among other roles, in suppressing anti-government protests in Iran.
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