President Donald Trump reacted Tuesday to Israel's report that two senior Iranian officials were killed in airstrikes, describing Iran's leadership as an "evil group" and praising the apparent removal of key figures tied to violence.
"Their leaders are gone. I guess one of their top person was — they say a lot of people say their actual top — was killed yesterday, along with somebody else that who was responsible for the killing, the man that was responsible for the killing of 32,000 people over the last two weeks," Trump told reporters at a White House event with Ireland Prime Minister Micheal Martin carried live by Newsmax.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, head of the Revolutionary Guard's Basij force, were "eliminated last night."
Larijani had emerged as one of the most powerful figures in Iran following the reported killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an airstrike at the outset of the war. Soleimani oversaw the Basij, a paramilitary force often used to suppress internal dissent.
"He was in charge of the killing of protesters. It's an evil group. I mean, they killed much more than 32,000 people. And the man who was responsible for that was also killed yesterday," Trump added.
Trump’s remarks came after Israel announced it had killed two high-ranking Iranian security officials in overnight strikes, marking a significant escalation in the conflict. The strikes represent a major blow to Iran's leadership structure as fighting intensifies.
In response, Iran launched new salvos of missiles and drones targeting Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors, signaling that the conflict shows no signs of slowing.
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