Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday again called on Iranians to “take their fate into their own hands” after the killing of the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani. This was reported by the AFP agency, writes TASR.
- The Israeli army killed Ali Larijjani and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimán.
- Benjamin Netanyahu calls on Iranians to get rid of their ruling spiritual authorities.
In a speech posted on social media, Netanyahu confirmed that the Israeli army “eliminated Ali Larijani,” as well as Basij paramilitary commander Gholamreza Soleimani, whose subordinates “spread terror in the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities.”
According to Netanyahu, Larijani’s killing is part of an effort to give Iranians a chance to get rid of their rulers. However, he admitted that the Iranians’ overthrow of the spiritual authorities “will not happen all at once, nor will it be easy. But if we persevere, we will give them a chance to take their fate into their own hands.”
The Israeli prime minister added that with such operations, Israel also helps the American allies in the Persian Gulf at the time of Iranian attacks on the region. He added that he had “discussed the issue in detail” with US President Donald Trump on Monday.
Cooperation with the USA
“There is cooperation between our air forces and navies, between me and President Trump and his team. We will help both with indirect attacks that put enormous pressure on the Iranian regime and with direct operations. Many more surprises await us,” Netanyahu announced.
The AP agency recalls that the 68-year-old Larídzání came from a well-known family, many of whose members were active in politics. As a former speaker of the parliament, he was a political adviser to the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on strategy during the nuclear program negotiations with the US government. He also served as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the country’s highest security body.
Larídžani’s political career
The United States imposed sanctions on him in January for his role in violently suppressing protests. “Larijani was one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people,” the US Treasury Department said at the time.
As the AP agency notes, Larijani was a representative of the conservative spectrum on the Iranian political scene with certain pragmatic attitudes. Due to growing domestic and foreign pressure, however, he became a supporter of a harder line.
He was the speaker of the parliament from 2008 to 2020. In 2021, he applied for the post of president, but his candidacy was surprisingly rejected by the Guardian Council.
Since the start of the war against Iran, Israel and the United States have killed several high-ranking members of the Iranian leadership. In the first wave of attacks, the supreme leader of the country, Ali Khamenei, the Minister of Defense, Aziz Nasirzadeh, and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Pakpur, were killed.
