Israel says it has killed top commander of Iranian Basij militia

Israeli Military Claims Strike in Tehran Kills High-Ranking Iranian Official

The Israeli military has announced that it conducted a targeted strike in Tehran, killing Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij unit, an internal security paramilitary militia within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to a social media post on Tuesday, the Air Force carried out the operation based on “precise intelligence from Military Intelligence”.

Iran has not commented on the claim, neither confirming nor denying it. Additionally, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was also killed in a strike.

If confirmed, Soleimani and Larijani would be among the highest-level killings since US-Israeli strikes targeted former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. The US Treasury records Soleimani’s birth year as 1965. He has been sanctioned by several countries for his alleged involvement in suppressing dissent through the Basij.

The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force under Iran’s IRGC, founded after the 1979 revolution. It operates local branches across cities and is frequently deployed on the front lines of protests to maintain internal security nationwide. The Basij has been targeted by US and Israeli forces during the ongoing conflict in Iran.

Details about Soleimani’s death are not yet available from Iranian authorities.

Source: Al Jazeera