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<\/a>Israel Ramps Up Strikes on Iran\u2019s Leadership, Repression Apparatus<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\nAilin Vilches Arguello<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Israel has intensified a sweeping campaign targeting Iran\u2019s leadership and internal security machinery, in what officials say is a bid to destabilize the regime and lay the groundwork for its potential collapse.<\/span><\/p>\n On Tuesday night, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib in Tehran during a precision airstrike carried out with a narrow window of real-time intelligence.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Israeli officials, the strike followed rapidly obtained intelligence pinpointing Khatib\u2019s hideout, allowing the Air Force to divert jets mid-mission and eliminate the target within minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n Emerging reports indicate that Iranian civilians are increasingly supplying Israel with real-time intelligence \u2014 including the locations of checkpoints and security forces \u2014 providing critical insight that enables faster, more precise Israeli strikes.<\/span><\/p>\n Shortly after the attack, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed Khatib\u2019s death, condemning it as a \u201ccowardly assassination\u201d and warning that those responsible would be held accountable.<\/span><\/p>\n Appointed in 2021, Khatib led Iran\u2019s Ministry of Intelligence, a central pillar of the regime\u2019s repression apparatus, overseeing espionage, covert operations, and intelligence activities targeting both domestic dissent and foreign adversaries, including Israeli and US targets.<\/span><\/p>\n He also played a central role during the regime\u2019s brutal crackdown on internal dissent, including the latest nationwide anti-government protests, which security forces violently crushed, with thousands of demonstrators tortured and killed.<\/span><\/p>\n Khatib\u2019s assassination is the latest in a wave of targeted killings of senior Iranian officials in recent days, further weakening the regime\u2019s leadership and operational networks.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe intensity of the attacks in Iran is increasing. We are in the midst of a decisive victory,\u201d Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement after announcing Khatib\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIsrael\u2019s policy is clear and unequivocal: No one in Iran has immunity and everyone is in the crosshairs,\u201d he continued.<\/span><\/p>\n Katz also said Israeli forces now have the \u201cgreen light\u201d to carry out targeted assassinations, signaling a new phase in their operations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorized the IDF to thwart any senior Iranian official who is surrounded, intelligence and operational, without the need for additional authorization. We will continue to thwart and hunt them all,\u201d the Israeli official said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSignificant surprises are expected in all arenas that will escalate the war we are waging against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon,\u201d he continued, referring to Iran\u2019s chief terrorist proxy.<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier this week, the Air Force also killed Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran\u2019s National Security Council, in what was the most significant assassination since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the campaign. Larijani was widely believed to be running the country following Khamenei\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n Gholam Reza Soleimani, commander of the Basij forces, was also killed during the strike. He led the paramilitary units used by the regime to violently suppress protests and crush political opposition across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are undermining this regime in the hope of giving the Iranian people a chance to remove it,\u201d Netanyahu said in a statement after announcing the operation\u2019s successful outcome.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt won\u2019t happen all at once; it won\u2019t happen easily. But if we persist in this \u2014 we will give them a chance to take their fate into their own hands,\u201d the Israeli leader continued.<\/span><\/p>\n With the conflict now stretching over more than two weeks, Israel is now taking a strategic turn, with the Air Force on Wednesday hitting a gas processing facility in the country\u2019s southern region.<\/span><\/p>\n Located in the Persian Gulf, the South Pars gas field targeted in the attack is the world\u2019s largest natural gas reservoir, shared between Iran and Qatar, and supplies roughly 70\u202fpercent of the country\u2019s total natural gas output.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Michael Doran, an American analyst specializing in Middle Eastern politics, this latest operation reflects a widening of the campaign beyond military objectives to pressure other key parts of the regime.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cStrategically, this marks a shift toward targeting economic lifelines, not just military assets, with the goal of weakening regime stability,\u201d Doran wrote in a post on X.<\/span><\/p>\n .
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Smoke rises following an explosion, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 7, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. Photo: Majid Asgaripour\/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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