Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Tuesday that the military targeted and killed senior Iranian officials Ali Larijani and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force, in an overnight operation.
Larijani had previously advised the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on nuclear negotiation strategy during talks with the Trump administration. Khamenei was killed on Feb. 28, the first day of U.S.-Israel air strikes on Iran.
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Larijani in January for his role in coordinating the Iranian government’s violent crackdown on nationwide protests, which reportedly left thousands dead and tens of thousands detained. At the time, the department said Larijani “was one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people.”
