Israel assassinated two top Iranian officials in separate strikes Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: national security chief Ali Larijani and Basij paramilitary commander Gholamreza Soleimani.
- Iranian state media later confirmed both of their deaths.
Why it matters: Larijani was the de facto leader of Iran for the first ten days of the war after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in Israel's opening strike and before his son Mojtaba was chosen as successor, Israeli officials say.
