Summary

World News Turkey accuses Israel of political assassinations in Iran Türkiye has condemned Israel’s targeting and elimination of senior Iranian state officials and political figures, dubbing the actions “assassinations.” Speaking on Tuesday in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan demanded an immediate end to the military purge he said was unlawful. “Israel’s political assassinations are actions that fall outside the normal laws of war and are truly illegal activities,” the official stated. Fidan also criticized Israel’s operation in Lebanon, lamenting that the number of displaced people has exceeded 800,000 and is approaching 1 million. He said if the war and occupation continue to expand, there is a risk that the situation will turn into a permanent refugee crisis, with people seeking shelter beyond their countries’ borders. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the elimination of Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which he described as a “group of gangsters that effectively runs Iran.” He also announced Israel’s killing of the commander of the Basij, a volunteer force under the IRGC. Gholamreza Soleimani was appointed by the late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in July 2019. Netanyahu depicted Basij as “the gangsters’ assistants who are terrorizing the population” in Tehran and other Iranian cities. The militia suppressed civilians during the widespread protests. The prime minister said his country’s actions are undermining the regime in Iran and giving the people an opportunity to remove it and to take their destiny into their own hands. He vowed further direct and indirect attacks, as well as “many more surprises,” adding that, “The most important thing for winning a war is determination. We are determined to win.” Netanyahu insists Israel has achieved massive success in its operations, and is now “a formidable power, almost a global one, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with our friend, the global superpower.”