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Trump confirms assassination of Iran's de facto supreme leader
Editor : Fang Xun / Source: VOA / https://www.aboluowang.com/2026/0318/2361111.html
President Donald Trump said Israel had eliminated two key figures from the Iranian terrorist regime in the past day. He mentioned the killings during a meeting with the visiting Irish Prime Minister, as the joint U.S.-Israeli operation against the Tehran leadership entered its 18th day.
On Tuesday (March 17), Trump told Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office that after multiple rounds of eliminations in the joint operation, the Iranian regime's leadership was "no longer there." He also stated that the regime's "de facto supreme leader" had been killed in the past day; along with "another person responsible for the killing of 32,000 people," who had committed numerous crimes during the regime's brutal crackdown on the uprising against its authoritarian theocratic rule that began in January.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel announced that through a series of strikes in and around Tehran, the Iranian capital, it had eliminated the "de facto" leader of the Iranian regime and a senior commander.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated in a series of posts on the X platform that it conducted a precision strike and killed Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, near Tehran before dawn on Tuesday.
The IDF claimed that Larijani established himself as the "de facto" leader of the regime after an Israeli airstrike that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the operation on February 28. Larijani had previously served as Khamenei's chief aide.
The IDF also stated on Tuesday that it killed Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the regime's Basij paramilitary forces, in a targeted strike in central Tehran the previous day. The IDF claimed that Soleimani's forces played a major role in suppressing the uprising in January.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump stated that, according to his current understanding, the death toll from the crackdown has risen from the previously cited 32,000 to "approximately 41,000."
When asked by reporters about the next steps after the crackdown, Trump said, "We are not ready to leave at this time, but we will leave in the near future."
Irish Prime Minister Martin stated that Ireland and all other EU member states agree with the US view that Iran is a regime that supports terrorism and must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
President Donald Trump addressed the annual "Friends of Ireland" luncheon at the US Capitol with Irish Prime Minister Martin. (March 17, 2026)
"We must never allow a rogue state to possess nuclear weapons, or the capability to manufacture them," Martin said.
“Iran has been a financier of terrorism in the past. We imposed sanctions on Iran, and all European countries have done the same. Especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is a terrorist organization. They fund Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. They create chaos and are the most malicious force in the Middle East,” he added.
Martin also stated that, given Ireland's long history of deploying peacekeeping troops globally, the country is committed to resolving conflicts peacefully.
“We believe that, ultimately, all conflicts will come to an end; I think we must work towards that goal. I am confident that European leaders and the US government will actively participate and hopefully find a ‘landing zone,’” Martin said. A “landing zone” refers to potential room for compromise.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a statement released from his office that by eliminating Larijani and Soleimani, Israel was “weakening the regime in the hope of giving the Iranian people the opportunity to overthrow it.”
He said, “This will not happen overnight, nor will it be easy. But if we persevere, we can give them the opportunity to take their destiny into their own hands.”
Israel Defense Forces Persian-language spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Kamal Penhasi stated on Tuesday that in the coming days, Israel would continue targeted killings of figures within the regime, targeting individuals at all levels, “from senior officials and commanders to low-level agents engaged in repression at checkpoints.” Penhasi made these remarks at a briefing for international Persian-language media, including Voice of America Persian Service.
The Iranian regime announced on 9 March 2026 the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ayatollah Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader; however, since the US-Israeli offensive, he has not appeared in public or spoken out.
On Monday, Trump told reporters at the White House that, given previous reports that Khamenei's son was injured in related military operations, he was currently unsure whether the new Supreme Leader was alive or dead.
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