Israel’s military has targeted Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, four Israeli officials said, adding that it was not immediately clear whether he was killed or injured.
Larijani was one of the targets of strikes carried out by the Israeli military last night across Iran, the officials told Reuters.
Iran has not yet commented on the report. If his death is confirmed, he would be the most senior Iranian official to be killed after the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, who died on the first day of the war.
Larijani, a former nuclear negotiator and a close ally of Khamenei, was seen in Tehran on Friday taking part in Quds Day rallies.
Rising Tensions And US Pressure
Later that day, the U.S. offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on senior Iranian military and intelligence officials, including Larijani, as part of a list of 10 figures linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Larijani had on Monday accused Islamic countries of abandoning Iran during the war with the United States and Israel, singling out the United Arab Emirates for describing Tehran as an enemy after attacks on Emirati targets.
“No Islamic government stood alongside the people of Iran except in rare cases and limited to political positions.”
“Is the position of some Islamic governments not in contradiction with the words of the Prophet of Islam who said: ‘Whoever hears the cry for help of a Muslim and does not respond is not a Muslim’?” he said. “So what kind of Islam is this?”
Larijani said some governments had gone further by calling Iran an enemy because it targeted what he called “American bases and US and Israeli interests on their soil.”
“Is Iran expected to sit idly by while American bases in your countries are used to attack it?” Larijani asked. “These are weak excuses.”
Multiple Israeli media outlets also said the strikes targeted Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij Resistance Force and other senior Basij figures, with the outcome of the
strikes still being assessed.
(with inputs from Reuters)
