Benjamin was never known for obscenities. His longest-serving prime minister would not have remained otherwise.
“This morning, we neutralized Ali Larijani. Ali Larijani is the boss of , that group of gangsters that actually runs the . Along with him, we also neutralized the commander of the Basij – they are the helpers of the gangsters who terrorize the population on the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities. We operate there as well, we operate from the air with Air Force fighters and UAVs,” he stressed.
Who was Ali Larijani and why was he critical to the regime
But who was Ali Larijani? He was Iran’s top security official after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and had a reputation for bridging the country’s hard-line military elements with more moderate political factions. After all, he was a moderate negotiator on Iran’s nuclear program between 2005 and 2007.
He played a central role in Iran’s attacks on US and Israeli targets, as well as targets in the Gulf countries, and oversaw a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in January that left thousands dead.
The Israeli military called Larijani “the de facto leader of the Iranian regime” after Khamenei’s assassination.
Israel announced that it had also killed Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij, the militia deployed by the government to quell protests and with which the new supreme religious leader – Mojtaba Khamenei – had and still has very close ties.
Besides, that’s where his “career” started.
The two murders that took place yesterday were announced by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, stressing that Israel will continue to target Iran’s leadership.
However, these two assassinations do not mean that they will make it easier for the US and Israel regarding the outcome of the war. Unless Mojtaba Khamenei emerges forcefully – and soon – there are fears that Iran’s military will strengthen its control over government affairs.
The Basij, the Revolutionary Guards and the apparatus of repression
The main issue that concerns the Iranian military and to a large extent the Revolutionary Guards? Iran’s nukes.
So far, there is no indication that the US or Israel have taken control of the enriched uranium.
The next day: Military rule instead of theocracy?
A less theocratic and more militarized regime will be much more dangerous and unpredictable in terms of using a nuclear weapon.
Certainly, however, the regime is in a difficult position, regardless of what and who will prevail the next day. According to the New York Times, a senior Iranian official said in a telephone interview that he had received a call with the news that Mr. Larijani had been killed.
He described the mood among officials as one of deep shock, as well as concern that Israel will not stop until all members of Iran’s leadership are killed and the Islamic Republic is overthrown. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The rise of Ghalibaf and the new centers of power
The newspaper believes Larijani’s killing further strengthens Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, who acts as a liaison between Mojtaba Khamenei, the state bureaucracy and the Guards.
Finally, the chaos prevailing in Tehran and Iran is vividly described by a cable last Friday from the American embassy in Jerusalem, to which the Washington Post obtained exclusive access.
It specifically states: “Senior Israeli officials told US diplomats that Iranian protesters ‘will be massacred’ if they take to the streets against their government.”
A regime that “does not break” and a war without end
The cable conveyed an Israeli assessment that the Iranian regime was “unbreakable” and prepared to “fight to the end”, despite the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28 and the ongoing bombing campaign by the US and Israel.
Despite reports that the late supreme leader’s son and successor was injured in an airstrike, Israeli officials said Mojtaba Khamenei was “still in charge” and “more aligned” with the hardline Revolutionary Guards than his father. They speculated that the regime might moderate its positions if the new supreme leader is killed, but noted that it is “stubborn” and should be “overthrown from within,” the cable concluded.
The strategy of “surprises”
But, as much as it endures and “does not break”, as the telegram states, the regime in Tehran, Mr. Netanyahu was clear yesterday: “There are many more surprises. With tricks you will wage war. We won’t reveal all the tricks here, but as I told you, there are a lot.”
For a leader (Netanyahu) who convinced President Trump to take on at enormous cost – energy, geopolitical, military – his desire for the US to attack (and) Iran, for a state that has been “working” the bomber operation for at least 10 years, for a state that has declared that until it destroys the last responsible or supreme leader of any enemy country… for Israel, the targeted assassinations of top of Iranian officials have not even reached 20% of their target.
If necessary, they will continue until the last cleric of the last village in the Kavir desert becomes supreme leader.
And that’s both reassuring, but at the same time terrifying as a prospect. For the Middle East and for the West.
