Israel Katz Threatens to Eliminate Any New Iranian Leadership
In an unprecedented escalation that warns of an expanding confrontation, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz renewed his public threats to continue the assassination policy within Iran, asserting that any individual appointed to lead the country following the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will be a “direct target for elimination.”
* Assassinations Continue and Fiery Messages
At a time when Tehran has not yet buried Khamenei, who was announced dead on March 1 following an Israeli strike, Katz made decisive statements today, Wednesday, saying he had directed the Israeli army “to prepare and work by all means to carry out assassination operations,” emphasizing that targeting Iranian regime leaders is an essential part of the objectives of Operation “Lion's Roar,” the name Tel Aviv has given to its war against Iran.
He added in an escalatory tone: “Every leader appointed by the Iranian regime will be a direct target,” confirming that any leader who continues Khamenei's approach will not be safe from Israeli strikes.
* Intensive Strikes in the Heart of Tehran
Simultaneously with these threats, the Israeli army announced the implementation of a new wave of airstrikes targeting command centers of the “Basij” forces and internal security agencies in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
It clarified in a statement that the air force dropped dozens of shells on leadership sites belonging to those forces, as part of a series of continuous strikes across the capital.
* Assassination of the New Defense Minister
The Israeli statements came just hours after the announcement of the assassination of the new Iranian Defense Minister Majid Ibn al-Ridha, who had only been appointed two days prior, succeeding General Aziz Nasirzadeh, who was also killed on the first day of the war.
Tehran announced on March 1 the death of several of its prominent leaders, including:
• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
• Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Abd al-Rahim Mousavi
• Commander of the Revolutionary Guard Mohammad Pakpour
• Advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Shamkhani
* The First Day of War... A Strike on Leadership
The war that erupted on February 28 witnessed a qualitative strike on its first day, targeting Khamenei's headquarters in Tehran during a meeting with several senior military leaders, in an operation executed in cooperation between Israel and the United States.
In this context, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that about 40 high-ranking Iranian leaders were killed on the first day of the joint American-Israeli attacks.
* Security Breach and Use of Artificial Intelligence
Informed sources later revealed that the Israeli “Mossad” managed to infiltrate surveillance cameras in the streets of Tehran, closely monitoring the movements of guards and security personnel, using artificial intelligence tools to track targets and determine the timing of strikes.
With the continuation of the airstrikes and the escalation of threats, the confrontation seems open to more dangerous possibilities, amid a clear Israeli commitment to target any new Iranian leadership, against a backdrop of official Iranian silence surrounding the reorganization of the power structure after the loss of its top leadership.
