*Tehran Confirms, As Supreme Leader Rebuffs De-escalation Talks
ISRAEL, on Tuesday, March 17, said it had killed Iran’s security chief, the most senior figure targeted since the war’s first day, even as a senior Iranian official said the new supreme leader had rejected de-escalation offers conveyed by intermediary countries.
Israel announced it had killed Ali Larijani, widely viewed as one of Iran’s most powerful figures and a confidant of slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his son and successor, Mojtaba.
In a sign of Iran’s continued defiance after over two weeks of war, the senior Iranian official who asked not to be identified said the younger Khamenei had rejected proposals that were conveyed to Iran’s Foreign Ministry for “reducing tensions or ceasefire with the United States.”
The official did not give further details, but added that Mojtaba Khamenei had held his first foreign policy session since being named supreme leader, and had declared that it was not “the right time for peace until the United States and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat, and pay compensation.”
He did not clarify whether the younger Khamenei, who has not yet appeared in photos or on television since being named last week to replace his slain father, had attended the meeting in person or remotely.
The killing of Larijani in an Israeli strike has been confirmed by Iranian state media, making him the most senior figure killed by Israel and the US since the war’s first day when they killed the supreme leader, other members of his family and other senior officials. Larijani, who served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, was close to the slain leader, but also had a reputation for pragmatic relations with other factions in the ruling system.
In a video posted on social media, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pulled a small card out of his suit jacket pocket and said: “Today I erased two names on the punch card, and you see how many more to go on this batch.”
In Israel, where Iranian missile attacks have killed 12 people, air raid sirens sounded throughout Tuesday in the commercial hub Tel Aviv and surrounding cities as loud blasts of interceptions were heard as far away as Jerusalem.
The barrage underscores Tehran’s capacity to carry out long-range strikes despite more than two weeks of pounding by US and Israeli weapons.
The Israeli military said it was targeting “Iranian regime infrastructure” with strikes across Tehran, as well as Hezbollah sites in Beirut.
