Iran’s Security Chief Ali Larijani Who Threatened Trump, Killed In Israeli Airstrike

Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian security official who recently threatened U.S President Donald Trump, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Iran’s Defence Ministry, said Larijani, who served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, died in a strike carried out on the night of March 16.

The Israel Defense Forces said he was one of its targets.

The Israeli military also said another strike killed Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary group, although Iranian authorities had not immediately confirmed his death.

Larijani had only days earlier issued a warning to Trump, saying Iran would not be intimidated by threats and cautioning that those who challenged the country could face serious consequences.

“The nation of Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Even those bigger than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation.

“Watch yourselves, or you might be eliminated!,” Larijani threatened Trump

Larijani was part of an interim leadership body involved in guiding the country during discussions over who would eventually succeed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Basij force, led by Soleimani, is a volunteer paramilitary group linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has often been used by authorities to control protests in Iran.

In a statement, the Israeli military described the Basij as part of Iran’s security structure and accused it of leading crackdowns during recent demonstrations.

“The Basij forces are part of the armed apparatus of the Iranian terror regime,” the Israeli military said in its statement.

“During internal protests in Iran, particularly in recent periods as demonstrations intensified, Basij forces under Soleimani’s command led the main repression operations, employing severe violence, widespread arrests and the use of force against civilian demonstrators.” 

Soleimani, who was born in 1965, had been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, and other countries over his role in suppressing dissent in Iran.

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