After two weeks in which the Iranian regime engaged in intense bombing to overthrow it, Israel announced this Tuesday that it had killed its most prominent figure since the assassination of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on February 28. This is Ali Larijani, secretary of the National Security Council and one of the strong men, particularly after the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as his father’s successor. He is often described as the ruler in fact, Although the Tehran regime does not depend on a single man, but on several pillars that support it and always have a successor ready. Tehran, for the moment, remains silent about its status.
The semi-official Tasnim agency has released what it describes as a handwritten note from Larijani, honoring the 84 sailors killed by a US torpedo when their frigate sank last month off the coast of Sri Lanka. It is not clear if it is an attempt to deny the death. It is dated “17 days after the martyrdom” of Ali Khamenei, “on the eve of the funeral ceremony” in honor of the sailors, so it could have been written before the bombing to kill him, which Israel places on Monday night.
Larijani was last seen in public on Friday, at the Jerusalem Day marches in support of Palestinians. On Monday he launched a very critical call to the rest of Muslim countries to unite against the “treasonous aggression” of the United States and Israel. “Whose side are you on?” he asked them, emphasizing that the unity “with full force” of the umma (the Islamic nation) can “guarantee the security, progress and independence of all its countries.”
The authorities have also not yet provided a toll of victims in the attack that killed Larijani, although images of some bombed places show extensive destruction.
Israel has killed another important figure: Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij paramilitary force, one of the pillars over the years against protest demonstrations, including those that preceded the war (with at least 3,000 dead). The objective seems, in this case, to send a message to the Iranians to overcome the fear of bombings and repression, and take to the streets. Authorities have made clear in recent days that they would not consider them protesters, but agents of the enemy in time of war. The Revolutionary Guard has confirmed the death of Soleimani, which it describes as a “cowardly murder” that highlights “the importance and role of the Basij” in the war.
In recent days, in fact, Israel has been attacking checkpoints established by Basijis in the streets to control the population. Up to 10 on the last night of the bombing. The country’s military correspondents speak of hundreds of deaths, but it is about .
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees with frustration the empty streets of Iran, without the coup d’état or massive demonstrations, faced with the limits of aerial bombardments, without troops on the ground. “You can lead someone to water, but you can’t make them drink it,” he admitted last week, in his first press appearance of the war. This Tuesday, he insisted on the same idea: “We are weakening this regime in the hope of giving the Iranian people the opportunity to overthrow it. It will not happen overnight, nor will it be easy. But if we persevere, we will give them the opportunity to take the reins of their own destiny.”
During the day, and in the absence of other significant achievements on the Iranian front, the prime minister has tried to capitalize on the assassination operations. The war, where the opposition continues to be close to the majority. First, his office has rushed to release a photo showing him giving the order to kill Iranian leaders. Then, he released a video with the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, to prove that he is alive (numerous rumors have been circulating about his death for days) and boast among jokes about having finished off Soleimani and, presumably, Larijani. “Today I deleted two names on this list. Have you seen how many more are left in this batch?” Netanyahu asked the ambassador while showing him a list of targets.
Sima Shine, head of the Iran program at the Institute for National Security Studies (affiliated with Tel Aviv University) and former head of the Mossad Research and Evaluation Division, recalled this Tuesday that the Tehran regime “is not a person, but a system” still supported by millions of people, so the selective assassinations of its leaders do not serve as the “main tool to overthrow it.” “Iran had been preparing for this situation for years in different aspects. One of them was relocating responsibilities to regional commanders, whether for ballistic missiles or basiji,” he said in a video conference with journalists.
After leaving Larijani and Soleimani for dead, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, has assured that the Armed Forces “continue to operate in Iran with great intensity, attacking regime targets, suppressing missile launch capacity and destroying key strategic infrastructure in all areas.” “Their annihilation program is being destroyed, and their leaders and capabilities are being neutralized,” he added.
They were not the only bombings of the day. , with Tehran intensifying its offensive in the Gulf. The US embassy in Baghdad has been the target of one of the most intense attacks since the start of the war, with rockets and drones. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have also reported bombings.
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Who is Ali Larijani?
Neither the US, nor Israel, nor Iran seem, at the moment, to move towards de-escalation. Donald Trump, who demands the “unconditional surrender” of Tehran and – in one of his contradictory messages – sees the war as “almost over”, has rejected the negotiation proposals made by his allies in the Middle East. They are among the most affected by the war situation, being attacked daily by Tehran (without responding) in a conflict that they did not start and that breaks the image of stability on which they have supported the attraction of foreign investment.
“Firm response”
Israel does not step on the brakes either. With his assassination attempts this Tuesday, he has risen, fulfilling the sarcastic threat that Netanyahu made last week: “I would not take out a life policy for any of the leaders of the terrorist organizations,” which includes the regime in Tehran. The two main figures he killed (Ali Khamenei and Larijani, allegedly) were not, furthermore, particularly radical, but rather more pragmatic and open to dialogue, so their absence enhances the escalation.
This is the case of the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, whom Trump considers injured. It has rejected proposals to reduce tensions or achieve a ceasefire with the United States presented to it by two intermediary countries, according to a senior Iranian official quoted by the Reuters agency on Tuesday. In his first foreign policy meeting, he took a “very firm and forceful” stance on the need to avenge previous aggression. Khamenei considers that “it is not the right time for peace” and that the United States and Israel must “surrender, accept defeat and pay compensation,” according to the source, who did not specify whether the new leader attended in person.
