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Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed on Tuesday that Iran's security chief Ali Larijani and the commander of the Basij paramilitary force were killed in an air strike.
There is no confirmation from Iran on the death of the two officials.
“I was just informed by the Chief of Staff that the Secretary of the National Security Council, Larijani, and the head of the Basij – Iran's main suppression body – [Gholamreza] Soleimani, were eliminated tonight and joined the head of the destruction plan, Khamenei, and all the thwarted members of the evil axis in the depths of hell,” Mr Katz said.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli army had said it killed Mr Soleimani in an air strike. The Basij is under the control of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is often used to quell protests inside the country.
Mr Larijani, a former nuclear negotiator and a close ally of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was seen in Tehran on Friday taking part in Quds Day rallies.
Later that day, the US offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on senior Iranian military and intelligence officials, including Mr Larijani, as part of a list of 10 figures linked to the IRGC.
Mr Khamenei was killed on February 28, the first day of the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran, and was replaced by his son Mojtaba Khamenei.
“The [army] continues to operate in Iran with great force, against regime targets and suppressing missile launch capabilities and destroying key strategic infrastructure in all areas, setting Iran back decades,” Mr Katz said.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the [army] to continue hunting down the leadership of the regime of terror and oppression in Iran and to repeatedly cut off the head of the octopus and not let it grow,” he added.
Shortly after Israel announced Mr Larijani's death, his official account on X published a handwritten message mourning those killed in the war against Iran.
“Their memory will forever remain in the heart of the Iranian nation, and these martyrdoms will strengthen the foundation of the Islamic Republic's Army for years to come within the structure of the armed forces,” the message said.
Mr Larijani was the influential secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). He was appointed to the post in August last year by President Masoud Pezeshkian, and as the representative of Iran’s late supreme leader to the council.
He served as speaker of Iran's parliament for 12 years, from May 2008 to May 2020. Before that, Mr Larijani was Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator between 2005 and 2007.
Mr Soleimani had served as the commander of the Basij force since 2019. He oversaw the suppression of domestic protests and was sanctioned by several countries for human rights violations.
He was sanctioned by the Council of the European Union in April 2021, for his role in the violent response to the November 2019 protests in Iran. He was also added to the US Department of the Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.
