Iran has confirmed the deaths of two of its top officials. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated FARS media outlet published an obituary for Basij commander Gholamrez Soleimani. State-run IRNA reported the death of Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, along with his son and head of security.
Yesterday, the Israelis reported their liquidation. Soleimani headed the Basij unit for six years, a paramilitary organization consisting of volunteers, acting as a peopleʼs militia and participating in the violent dispersal of demonstrations in the country. And Larijani was the right-hand man of the former Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei. He was responsible for negotiations on key national security issues, including the nuclear program.
Gholamreza Soleimani
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Since the start of the fighting, Israel has continued to assassinate key Iranian officials. In the first five minutes of the war, Israeli pilots killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military command of the country. Investigative journalist Ronen Bergman described how Israel managed to do this, and Babel quoted him.
War in the Middle East
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials. A new ayatollah was elected on March 8, and he was Mojtaba Khamenei (the son of the deceased Ali Khamenei).
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, has begun shelling US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE and firing missiles at Israel. Some Iranian drones and missiles have hit infrastructure and residential areas in Arab countries.
The conflict has brought tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, to a near standstill. About a fifth of the world’s oil exports pass through it — tens of millions of barrels a day. Oil, gas, and precious metals have skyrocketed in price.
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