Israel military says killed Iran’s Basij paramilitary chief in strike

DUBAI: Israel’s military said on Tuesday it had killed the head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force in a strike, while Israeli media reported Tehran’s national security chief was also targeted for assassination.
“In a precise strike in Tehran: The IDF eliminated the Commander of the Basij Unit,” the Israeli military said.
“Yesterday (Monday), the Israeli Air Force, acting on IDF intelligence, targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past six years,” it said.
The Basij, a volunteer force under Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, “led the main repression operations” by the authorities during recent mass protests in Iran, the Israeli army said.
Iran was rocked by unprecedented protests against the clerical establishment that peaked in January.
They were met with a crackdown in which, according to rights groups, thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands arrested.
The Israeli military also said it had targeted Iran’s powerful national security chief Ali Larijani in an overnight strike.
Israel's military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said "significant preventive achievements were recorded overnight" in a statement released earlier by the military.