"Larijani is dead" VIDEO

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said today that Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, is dead, Reuters reported.

Earlier today, The Times of Israel, citing Israeli officials, reported that Israel carried out an overnight airstrike in Iran targeting Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

According to preliminary reports, it was not immediately known whether Larijani had been killed or wounded in the attack. Iranian authorities have not yet confirmed these claims.

Earlier, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said during a morning assessment that “significant successes in eliminations were also recorded overnight, with the potential to impact the achievements of the campaign and the IDF’s mission.”

The Times of Israel notes that Zamir was apparently referring to the strike targeting Larijani.

“This is in addition to eliminations carried out in recent days in Iran against external elements, also connected to the Palestinian arena,” Zamir said, referring to officials of Islamic Jihad.

He also stated that “senior operatives involved in terrorist activities from Gaza and from Judea and Samaria” were hiding in a safe house in Tehran when they were attacked.

Shortly afterward, the IDF issued an official statement about the operation and the strike that led to the death of Ali Larijani.

The statement said that Larijani had been the “de facto leader of the Iranian terrorist regime” following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, The Times of Israel reported.

“For years, Larijani was considered one of the most senior and experienced figures in the leadership of the Iranian terrorist regime and was close to the regime’s leader, Ali Khamenei,” the statement said. It also noted that after Khamenei’s killing at the start of the war on February 28, Larijani led the fight against Israel and countries in the region.

“As part of his role, Larijani led the political-security coordination of the Iranian terrorist regime and was involved in directing its international activities,” the statement added.

The military also stated that during the wave of protests in Iran earlier this year, Larijani “led law enforcement actions and violent suppression, and even personally oversaw the massacre carried out against Iranian demonstrators.”

Along with this statement, the IDF also announced that in the overnight strike in Iran it killed the commander of the Basij paramilitary forces, Gholamreza Soleimani, his deputy, other senior officials, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Akram al-Ajouri.

According to the IDF, Soleimani was killed while he was in a tent camp recently established by the Basij, after the military had earlier struck several headquarters of the paramilitary forces, The Times of Israel reported.

In addition to him, the deputy commander of the Basij and other senior officials were also killed in the attack. The Basij is known for its role in the violent suppression of anti-government protests in Iran and is considered responsible for the deaths of numerous civilians.