After Israel claimed that it had eliminated Ali Larijani, Iran’s de facto leader and secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the killing and explained that Larijani was targeted with the intention of destabilising the Iranian regime and giving the Iranian people the opportunity to remove the regime from power.
In a video message released by Netanyahu's office, the prime minister said the killing of Larijani and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij Force head, Gholamreza Soleimani, is aimed at destabilising the Iranian regime in the hope of giving the Iranian people an opportunity to remove it.
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“This will not happen all at once; it will not happen easily. But if we persist, we will give them the opportunity to take their fate into their own hands,” the PM said in the video message.
He further said there is coordination between the air forces and navies of Israel and the US, and between him and US President Donald Trump.
"We will assist both through indirect attacks, which generate tremendous pressure on the Iranian regime, and through direct operations. There are many more surprises,” Netanyahu said.
Defence Minister Israel Katz had said Larijani and Soleimani had “joined the head of the annihilation program, Ali Khamenei, and all the eliminated members of the axis of evil, in the depths of hell.”
Iran has not yet confirmed or denied their deaths.
Despite the killing of senior leaders, the war remains largely unaffected, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard continues to launch missiles at Israel and across the Gulf.
