Israel Attempts to Assassinate Iran's Intel Chief Amid Escalating Strikes

As per the Jerusalem Post, certain Iranian media outlets also reported that a strike had been attempted, though there was no information about Khataib's status.

The assassination was attempted on Tuesday night, a source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday and mentioned that while the strike had been successful, no definitive results have been confirmed.

This attempt comes shortly after Ali Larijani, who has served as Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council was killed on Monday night.

The death of the 67-year-old Larijani, a close associate of the late Ali Khamenei and his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, occurred following an attack on Monday night. This represents the loss of the most senior figure in Tehran's leadership since the conflict began 19 days ago.

Additionally, Iranian state media confirmed on Tuesday that Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij forces, was also killed in an "American-Zionist enemy" attack. Soleimani had led the internal security force for six years and was considered a key figure in the military response.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has asserted that the political infrastructure of the nation remains a "very solid structure" and will not suffer a "fatal blow to Iran's leadership" following the confirmed killing of Ali Larijani.

"I do not know why the Americans and the Israelis still have not understood this point: The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economic, and social institutions," Araghchi said.

The Foreign Minister emphasised that the "presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure." He noted that while "individuals are influential, and each person plays their role--some better, some worse, some less--but what matters is that the political system in Iran is a very solid structure."

Araghchi highlighted the earlier loss of the country's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the initial phase of US-Israeli strikes on 28 February. He remarked that despite the immense national loss, "the system continued" to function.

Araghchi reiterated that the escalating conflict across the region was not initiated by Tehran. "I will repeat: This war is not our war," the minister stated."We did not start it. The United States started it and is responsible for all the consequences of this war--human and financial--whether for Iran, for the region, or for the entire world," Araghchi said, adding that "the United States must be held accountable."

- ANI