Israel, on Tuesday, claimed to have killed Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and the commander of the internal Basij militia, Gholamreza Soleimani, with no confirmation or denial by Iran so far. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz made the claim.
If confirmed, Larijani would be the highest-ranking Iranian killed in the war since United States-Israeli strikes killed former Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several members of his family on the first day of the war they launched on February 28.
Meanwhile, the Iranian state media published a handwritten note by Larijani, though it was not clear whether it was intended as proof that he was alive. Larijani’s note, published on his social media pages, commemorates 84 Iranian sailors killed in a US attack on their naval ship in international waters.
Larijani was last seen publicly on Friday, attending the Al-Quds Day rally in support of Palestinians in Tehran, along with President Masoud Pezeshkian. He has been a key political figure in the Iranian hierarchy for years, at one time leading the nation’s nuclear negotiations with the West. Previously, he was also the Iranian speaker of the parliament.
Apparently referring to the high-profile killing, Katz said, “The leaders of the regime are being killed and their capabilities terminated. Our army is working with strength to continue to hit and terminate the missile capabilities as well as the strategic infrastructure.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the alleged killing of Larijani was part of an effort to give Iranians a way to overthrow the government. “We eliminated Ali Larijani, the boss of the Revolutionary Guards, which is the gang of gangsters that actually runs Iran,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
Trump turnaround again
A visibly irritated Donald Trump performed a swift about-face on Tuesday, declaring that the United States “doesn't need anybody” to secure the Strait of Hormuz. The comments follow a cold response from traditional allies to his weekend appeal for a multinational naval coalition to break Iran’s blockade of the vital shipping lane.
The US President’s shift in tone marks a sharp departure from Monday, when he had warned that a refusal to assist could lead to a “very bad future” for NATO. However, after heavyweights like Germany, Spain and Italy declined the request, Trump took to a familiar podium to insist that his outreach was merely a test of loyalty. "I'm almost doing it... because I want to find out how they react,” he said, adding that he had long suspected certain allies would fail to show up when needed.
US counterterrorism chief resigns over Iran war
Joe Kent, the director of the US National Counterterrorism Centre, resigned from his post, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration's war in Iran, adding that the war was started by the US at Israel’s pressure.
“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent wrote on the social media. There was no immediate comment from the White House.
Iran strikes US assets in Iraq, UAE, Saudi Arabia
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with assistance from Iraqi militia groups, launched a series of drone and missile attacks on US bases in Iraq as part of retaliatory strikes against American interests in the region. An explosive-laden drone targeted Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone which houses several top foreign diplomatic missions, including those of the European Union and Saudi Arabia, as well as foreign employees of oil companies.
Suspected Iranian drones struck Qatar’s capital Doha in the early hours of Tuesday. Similar strikes were reported in the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Iran allows passage to Pak oil tanker
KARACHI: Iran has permitted a Pakistani commercial oil tanker to pass through its side of the Strait of Hormuz and enter Pakistan’s territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. The ship, “MT Karachi”, carrying around 109,990 tonnes of crude oil, will dock at the Karachi port trust on Wednesday, a Pakistan National Shipping Corporation spokesperson said.
Lebanon proposes first talks with Israel in decades
BEIRUT: With airstrikes rocking Beirut and Israeli troops advancing against Hezbollah, Lebanon’s government has broken a taboo by proposing the first direct talks with Israel in decades. But Lebanese officials say they want the fighting to end first, and it might be too late for that.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun offered to hold direct negotiations with Israel for the first time since the 1982 Israeli invasion during Lebanon's civil war. Aoun also asked for a boost in funding for Lebanese troops and reaffirmed his commitment to disarm Hezbollah.
Also read: Trump fumes over allies’ refusal to join Hormuz mission
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