Iran vows revenge as Israel ups pressure on leadership
TEHRAN
A man waves an Iranian flag as a crowd attends the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign in Tehran, Iran.
Iran on March 18 vowed revenge over the Israeli killing of its security chief Ali Larijani, with Tehran insisting his assassination will not deal a fatal blow to the leadership amid Israel’s pressure.
Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards launched missiles at central Israel as retaliation for Larijani's death and warned of more to come. A barrage of Iranian missiles killed two people near Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv overnight, while Iranian media said seven people were killed in strikes in its western Lorestan province.
The "pure blood of this great martyr... will be a source of honor, power and national awakening against the front of global arrogance," it said.
Larijani is the most prominent figure of the Islamic republic killed since Israel and the United States launched their attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 with a wave of strikes that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and ignited a war across the Middle East.
According to Iran's Fars and Tasnim news agencies, funerals for Larijani and another powerful figure killed by Israel, Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij paramilitary force, will take place from 10:30 GMT in Tehran.
It was not certain the funerals would go ahead the slain ayatollah's funeral was due to be held days after he was killed, but that was later postponed indefinitely.
However, the Mehr news agency published a photo of Larijani's coffin bearing his photo and draped with the Iranian flag, alongside that of his son, whose death was also announced.
In a recent development, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on March 18 that Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran overnight, adding that “significant surprises” are expected.
“On this day, significant surprises are expected across all arenas that will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he said as quoted by his office.
He also said that the military has been authorised to target any senior Iranian official without requiring further approval.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorised the IDF to eliminate any senior Iranian official for whom the intelligence and operational circle has been closed, without the need for additional approval," Katz said in a statement.
"We will continue to thwart and hunt them all down."
The development came as the Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli intelligence operations targeting Iran have expanded beyond airstrikes to include direct psychological pressure on the country’s security leadership.
According to the report, Israeli intelligence operatives have contacted individual commanders, warning them against resisting potential unrest.
The report said Israeli agents delivered stark messages such as, “You are on our blacklist… your fate will mirror that of your leadership,” while also addressing officials and even their families by name.
On the other hand, the Iranian top diplomat said that Israel’s assassinations will not destabilize Tehran’s political system.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, aired after the killing of Larijani was confirmed by Tehran, Abbas Araghchi said the United States and Israel had yet to realize that Iran’s government does not rely on a single individual.