Israel says it killed Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, in a precision airstrike near Tehran. Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the operation, calling Larijani a central figure in Iran’s war against Israel.
Larijani, appointed Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council last August, became Iran’s de facto leader after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in February. His death, if confirmed, marks the highest-level Iranian assassination since Khamenei’s.
The IDF also claimed the killing of Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani, head of Iran’s paramilitary force known for suppressing domestic protests. Neither death has been acknowledged by Iranian authorities.
Oil prices spiked as Iranian retaliation disrupted Gulf exports through the Strait of Hormuz. Protests inside Iran surged under Larijani’s crackdown-activists report over 6,500 killed. Some Iranians welcomed the news via text to BBC Persian.
Larijani, a former IRGC commander and parliament speaker, was last seen publicly at a Quds Day rally just days before the strike. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated: “We are undermining this regime to give the Iranian people an opportunity to remove it.”