REPORT: Tehran Residents Helped IDF Locate, Eliminate Iran’s ‘De Facto’ Leader

Israeli officials believe that overnight airstrikes in Tehran resulted in the deaths of Ali Larijani, Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and a senior security figure, along with Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the paramilitary Basij unit.

Larijani, a former speaker of parliament, had been described in reports as a key official acting in a de facto leadership role following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The strikes occurred as part of ongoing operations targeting Iranian security structures.

“Larijani and the Basij commander were eliminated overnight and joined the head of the annihilation program, Khamenei, and all the eliminated members of the axis of evil, in the depths of hell,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced in a statement.

The operation formed part of a wider series of strikes on Basij and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facilities. According to a report from The Guardian, approximately 300 Basij commanders and field officials were killed in actions against command centers, logistics structures, a repair and maintenance facility holding hundreds of vehicles and motorcycles used for patrols and other targets throughout the Iranian capital of Tehran.

Iranian authorities have not issued any confirmation or comment on the reported deaths of Larijani or Soleimani as of the latest available information.

According to a source who spoke to CNN, Ali Larijani, the Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council who was reportedly killed earlier today in a strike by Israel, was seen by both Israel and the United States as the most favored transitional candidate as of… pic.twitter.com/ywDMIG908u

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 17, 2026

According to a report from Iran International citing an unnamed Israeli official, the strikes targeted Larijani were coordinated with Tehran residents. “The assassination of Larijani was made possible thanks to valuable intelligence that Israeli intelligence services received from residents of Tehran over the past 24 hours,” the official said.

The same official noted that Larijani’s recent public appearances contributed to his identification. “In recent days, Larijani had behaved arrogantly, appearing frequently in public (including at Quds Day rallies), engaging with both local and international media, and thereby exposing himself to public view, which ultimately led to his identification,” they said.

The official further indicated ongoing intelligence support, saying that Israeli services “continue to receive numerous reports that precisely guide them to the locations of Basij and IRGC checkpoints, significantly aiding their efforts.”

The developments coincide with statements from exiled Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi in the same Iran International report. Pahlavi described the strikes as delivering “a very heavy blow to the structures of repression in the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij.”

Pahlavi further discussed the reported existence of an Iranian dissident network known as “The Immortal Guard.”

“Groups inside the country, members of the Immortal Guard, through organization and coordinated work, have the ability to deliver further blows from within,” he said.

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