Israel has claimed that it targeted Iran’s de facto leader and secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, in an operation aimed at eliminating a number of senior Iranian officials. Though unconfirmed, a hit on Larijani is the most significant one since the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and IRCG commander Mohammad Fakhpour.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told reporters that Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, has died. “Larijani and the Basij commander were eliminated overnight and joined the head of the annihilation program, Khamenei, and all the eliminated members of the axis of evil, in the depths of hell,” Katz says during an assessment this morning, according to his office.
Though Iranian media is yet to confirm this, a senior, unnamed Israeli official said that "there was no chance he survived this attack."
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir appears to confirm the details. During an assessment this morning, Zamir says that “significant elimination achievements were also recorded overnight, with the potential to impact the campaign’s achievements and the IDF’s missions” — in an apparent reference to the strike targeting Larijani.
Larijani was the close aide and the right-hand man of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
According to Israeli media, by targeting Larijani, Israel has managed to leave Iran without a functioning leadership. The Israeli government reportedly estimates that the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is weak and has not yet gotten into business, if he is functioning at all after being injured in an attack at the beginning of the war. Through the killing of Mojtaba, Iran is left without a governing alternative.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to monitor the condition of Mojtaba, who, according to reports, has been airlifted to Russia for treatment.