The Times of Israel reported yesterday, citing the Hebrew language Channel 12 TV, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have recently instructed the military to immediately eliminate any senior Iranian or Hezbollah figure when intelligence allows, without waiting for traditional approval from military and political chains of command. The directive reportedly aims to prevent delays in operational activity during the ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran and Israel’s fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The report followed the targeted assassinations against Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, on which the network reports additional details. The attack on Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij Force, targeted not only the commander, his deputy, and other Basij commanders in Shiraz and additional cities, but also killed hundreds of Basij operatives as well, according to the report.
Israeli sources told the network that in the coming days, Israel intends to continue targeting the Basij “to the point where the Iranian public understands that this is its moment to rise up.”
“We are aiming for a certain point in time when we will call on the masses to take to the streets,” a senior Israeli official tells Channel 12. Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed that the operation against Iran will “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to rise up and topple the regime.
Meanwhile, IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin has vowed that the IDF will hunt down and kill Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, just as it did his father and predecessor. He said at a press conference yesterday that “we are striking all leaders of the regime, as seen in the past day,” referring to the killing of Larijani and Basij commander Soleimani.
“Mojtaba Khamenei, we don’t know his fate. We don’t hear him, we don’t see him, but I can tell you one thing, we will continue, as we have proven, we will continue to pursue anyone who poses a threat to the State of Israel or raises a hand against it,” he says. “He is not immune. We will pursue him, find him, and neutralize him.”
