Israel sees long road to Iran regime change as IRGC tightens grip
While the large number of Iranian leaders killed is clearly destabilizing the regime, its toppling could still take a long time, Israeli officials told Al-Monitor.
TEL AVIV — The killing of Iran’s National Security Council head, Ali Larijani, and the leader of its paramilitary Basij force, Gholamreza Soleimani, were intended to pave the way for a popular uprising to topple the Islamist regime, Israeli officials told Al-Monitor.
As the two men were considered responsible for killing thousands of demonstrators after mass protests erupted in Iran in late December 2025, their assassination was intended to ease Iranians' fear of violent repression if the protests resume.
The Israeli military also killed Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib in an overnight airstrike in the Iranian capital, Tehran, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday morning.
In another development on Wednesday, Israel struck a gas processing facility at southern Iran's South Pars field, the world's largest. Citing an unnamed Israeli official, Channel 12 reported that the strike was carried out in coordination with the United States, which “gave its approval for the operation.”
