Ori Goldberg
Israel announced today, March 17, that it had assassinated Ali Larijani, who became the de facto interim leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran after Israel assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28. Also today, Israel assassinated Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of the Basij forces, the domestic militia that enforces public modesty laws (among others). Larijani and the Basij are broadly believed to have orchestrated the massacre of thousands of Iranian protesters in January, with Larijani the one who persuaded the supreme leader to provide authorization and Soleimani responsible for executing the order.
Larijani came from an illustrious and well-connected family within Iran’s Shiite religious establishment. He was an important member of the Islamic Republic’s leadership, primarily because of his ability to build coalitions behind the scenes during times of brash rhetoric and mass demonstrations. Throughout its nearly half-century of existence, the Islamic Republic has always been ruled by such coalitions. The supreme leader, of whom there have been only two since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, is first among equals, but he is no Kim Jong Un.
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