Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday that the elimination of top Iranian security official Ali Larijani could create an opportunity for the Iranian people to topple the Islamic regime.
“Larijani is the boss of the Revolutionary Guards, which is the gang of gangsters that effectively runs Iran,” the premier said after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed Larijani’s assassination.
“Alongside him, we also eliminated the commander of the Basij—these are the gangsters helpers, who spread terror in the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities against the population,” the prime minister added.
Larijani had long been a senior figure in Tehran’s power structures and recently served as secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, which has the final say over policy, including the countries nuclear program.
Larijani was killed alongside Gholamreza Soleimani, who for the past six years headed the Basij, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) paramilitary volunteer force, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Jerusalem is “undermining this regime in the hope of giving the people of Iran people an opportunity to remove it. This will not happen all at once, and it will not be easy,” Netanyahu stated. “But if we persist, we will give them an opportunity to take their fate into their own hands.”
Netanyahu praised the cooperation with the U.S. military in “Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury,” saying the Jewish state has assisted the U.S. “both through indirect strikes that create tremendous pressure on the Iranian regime, and through direct actions.”
“There are many more surprises” in store, according to Netanyahu. He added: “War is conducted through stratagems. We will not reveal all the stratagems here, but I told you: there are many.”
“We’re achieving historic accomplishments. With God’s help, we have reached a situation where, after Oct. 7 [2023]—when we were on the brink—we are now a powerful state, almost a global power, fighting shoulder to shoulder with our ally, the global superpower,” he said.
“Who has our strength—of alliances, of the IDF, of the Air Force, and of a strong people?” concluded Netanyahu, urging Israelis to remain strong.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir stated on Tuesday that “significant achievements were recorded overnight in Iran” as part of the joint campaign against the Islamic regime, launched on Feb. 28.
“Cooperation between the IDF and U.S. Central Command continues to strengthen,” Zamir declared during a situational assessment. “We will continue to act decisively to remove threats to the residents of Israel.”
United States forces have carried out more than 6,000 combat flights since the start of “Operation Epic Fury”—Washington’s codename for the war—CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said on Monday.
