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Senior Iranian official Ali Larijani was among the targets of Israeli airstrikes on Iran overnight, Israeli media reported Tuesday, though there was no official confirmation.
“Senior Iranian regime official Ali Larijani is among the targets” of Israeli military strikes across Iran overnight, Yedioth Ahronoth said, without providing details on his condition.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Larijani was the “target of an assassination attempt,” while television station N12 said the results of the strike were “still being reviewed.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed Larijani has been killed, Israeli media reported after the initial claims on Tuesday.
In a statement released by his office, Katz alleged that Larijani and the Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani were “eliminated” in overnight strikes.
Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir said “significant preventive achievements were recorded overnight,” in a statement released by the military, without elaborating.
There was no immediate response from the Iranian authorities to the claim.
Larijani is the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
A conservative figure who has occasionally aligned with reformist positions, Larijani was among the prominent presidential hopefuls last year whose candidacy was rejected by the Guardian Council, the body that vets applicants.
He previously served as parliament speaker from 2008 to 2020 and held the SNSC role between 2005 and 2007.
Since May 2020, Larijani has also been a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, which mediates disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council.
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Meanwhile, Israel’s military said Tuesday it had killed the head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary forces in a “precise strike in Tehran.”
“Yesterday (Monday), the Israeli Air Force, acting on IDF intelligence, targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past six years,” the military said in a statement.
The developments come as hostilities have escalated since Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.
The strikes have killed around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to Iranian authorities.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.
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