Israel has killed two of Iran's most senior officials

An Israeli airstrike has killed Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani.

International media reports Larijani had been effectively running the country since the U.S. and Israel killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has also announced it killed General Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of an internal paramilitary called the Basij.

Iranian authorities have confirmed both deaths.

Context

After nuclear negotiations broke down, on 28 February, the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of top officials on the first day.

Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was appointed Supreme Leader on 8 March.

The new Supreme Leader has not appeared in public since February, meaning Larijani, as the country’s top security official, had emerged as the de facto leader.

Latest strikes

In the early hours of Tuesday morning (local time), Israeli forces killed Larijani in an air strike near Tehran.

The IDF said killing him was a “blow to the Iranian regime’s abilities to manage and coordinate hostile activity against the State of Israel.”

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Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed Larijani’s death to state-run media, describing him as a “martyr” – a person who is killed due to their beliefs.

Earlier this week, Israel killed Soleimani, who had commanded the Basij for six years.

The Basij is a plain-clothes paramilitary unit under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), itself a military force alongside Iran’s army.

The regime has long used the Basij to violently suppress domestic protests.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said: “The leaders of the regime are being killed and their capabilities terminated.”

The IRGC said Basij-affiliated forces would continue their “path of resistance” and seek to avenge the killing.

Response

After the deaths were announced, Iran launched missiles at Israel, killing two people in Tel Aviv, bringing the death toll of Israeli civilians and soldiers to 17.

Separately, the UAE closed its airspace and Qatar intercepted 13 ballistic missiles as Iran continued strikes across the region.

U.S-based human rights organisation HRANA reports U.S. and Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 civilians in Iran so far.