Israeli airstrikes killed top Iranian leaders Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani on Tuesday, adding to the list of key faces Israel says it has eliminated.
Israel on Tuesday said it killed in airstrikes Iranian security chief Ali Larijani, one of Iran’s highest-ranking leaders, and the head of country's powerful paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) Gholamreza Soleimani.
The February 28 US-Israeli strikes - named Operation Roaring Lion by Israel and Operation Epic Fury by the US - on Iran triggered a retaliation, and a missile-drone exchange, that still continues to rattle the entire Gulf region, with neither of the sides de-escalating. Track latest in US-Iran war here
While Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, around who rumours of death have also floated, was seen saying in a video on Tuesday that he “erased” two names on his “punch card”, Iran Wednesday vowed to a "decisive" retaliation for the death of its top officials Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani.
The killings are latest blows to the already-punctured Iranian leadership which received its first major jolt in the current war with US-Israel on February 28, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the joint strikes along with several other top Iranian officials.
Top Iranian leaders, officials killed so far in US-Israeli strikes
US-Israeli opening strikes on February 28 killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with his top security adviser, Ali Shamkhani, IRGC Cmdr. Mohammad Pakpour, chief of Staff of the armed forces Abdolrahim Mousavi, and defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.
Iranian leaders killed on Feb 28 strikes
According to a list on Israel Defence Forces website page on Operation Roaring Lion, those killed in the February 28 strikes include:
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Iran's Supreme Leader
Mohammad Shirazi: Head of the Military Bureau of Khamenei
Jalali Pour Hossein: Head of the Espionage Directorate in the Iranian Intelligence Ministry
Seyed Yahya Hamdi: Deputy Minister of Intelligence for Israeli Affairs and Senior Figure in the Iranian Ministry
Hassan Ali Tajib: Head of the Supply Department in the Iranian Armed Forces
Gholam Reza Rezaeian: Head of the Intelligence Directorate of the Internal Security Forces
Mohsen Darreh-Baghi: Head of the Supply, Logistics and Industrial Research Directorate in the Iranian Armed Forces
Akhr Ebrahim Zadeh: Acting Head of the Military Bureau of the Supreme Leader
Bahram Hosseni Motlaq: Head of the Operations and Planning Department in the Iranian Armed Force
Abd al-Rahim Mousavi: Chief of the General Staff of Iranian Army
Mohammad Fakhpour: Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
Ali Shamkhani: Advisor to the Supreme Leader for Security Affairs an Secretary of the Defence Council
Reza Mtafari-Nia: Former Head of the Organization o Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND
Hossein Jabal Amelian: Head of the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND)
Saieh Asadi: Head of the Intelligence Directorate of the "Khatam al-Anbiya" Emergency Command
Aziz Nasir-Zadeh: Minister of Defence
March 8
The Israeli Defence Forces shared on March 8 that it has eliminated five senior commanders in the IRGC Quds Force's Lebanon Corps in a precise strike in Beirut.
In a post on X, IDF said that those eliminated were Daoud Ali Zadeh, Commander of the Lebanon Corps; Majid Hassini, who was responsible for transferring funds to branches of Iran in Lebanon; Ali Reza Bi-Azar, Commander of the intelligence sector of the Lebanon Corps; and Hasan Ahmadlo, an intelligence operative in the Lebanon Corps, among others.
March 12
Abu Dharr Mohammadi: The IDF said on March 12 it eliminated Abu Dharr Mohammadi, the operations commander in the IRGC’s missile unit within Hezbollah in Beirut.
“Mohammadi was a central figure coordinating between Hezbollah and the Iranian terror regime and played a key role in rehabilitating Hezbollah’s missile program following Operation Northern Arrows,” the IDF said.
March 17
Ali Larijani: Israel said it eliminated Iran security chief Ali Larijani in an airstrike in Tehran, who it stated was functioning as the leader of the Iranian regime and led combat against Israel and countries in the region.
IDF described Larijani as "one of the most veteran and senior figures with the Iranian regime leadership".
Gholamreza Soleimani: Israel strikes also killed Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij. "The Basij unit under his leadership and served as the regime's primary instrument o repression," IDF said.
IDF said he took a significant part in the violent suppression during the protests in Iran.
Iran vows revenge for killings
Iran vowed on Wednesday a "decisive" retaliation for the death of its security chief Ali Larijani, firing off a wave of missiles at Israel which said it killed him in an air strike.
A barrage of Iranian missiles killed two people near Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv, while Gulf nations intercepted rockets and drones headed for targets including US bases in the region.
Iran will hold funerals Wednesday for Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, according to the Fars and Tasnim news agencies.
Larijani is the most prominent figure of the Islamic republic killed since Israel and the United States launched their attacks on Iran on February 28, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and igniting a war in the Middle East.
"Iran's response to the assassination of the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council will be decisive and regrettable," AFP news agency quoted Iranian army chief Amir Hatami as saying in a statement.
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