“In a precise strike in Tehran: The IDF eliminated the Commander of the Basij Unit,” the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that Soleimani had led the Basij for the past six years.

It said the operation was carried out by the Israeli Air Force based on intelligence.Israeli media reported that Larijani, a senior figure in Iran’s political and security establishment, was also targeted for assassination, though no confirmation on his status was immediately available.

The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force operating under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has played a central role in enforcing internal security.

Israel’s military said the Basij had led “main repression operations” during recent mass protests in Iran, which it cited as part of the rationale for the strike.

Iran experienced widespread unrest that peaked in January, with demonstrations challenging the clerical establishment. According to rights groups, the crackdown that followed resulted in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of arrests.

The Israeli military said the strikes were part of broader operations that yielded “significant preventive achievements overnight,” quoting Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir.

The targeting of senior Iranian figures in Tehran, if confirmed, would mark a notable escalation in Israel’s operations, extending beyond regional proxy engagements into direct action within Iran’s capital.

There was no immediate response from Iranian authorities regarding the reported strikes or casualties.

The statement marks a further escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, where both sides have intensified military operations targeting senior leadership figures.

Conflicting accounts emergeWhile Israeli officials declared Larijani dead, earlier reports citing Israeli sources indicated that his fate remained unclear following strikes that targeted him, leaving uncertainty over whether he had been killed or wounded.

Iran has not issued any official response confirming his death.Key figure in Iran’s power structureLarijani, a senior political and security figure, has played a central role in Iran’s leadership apparatus, particularly after the reported killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in earlier U.S.-Israeli strikes that reshaped the country’s command structure.

His removal, if confirmed, would represent one of the most significant blows to Iran’s leadership since the start of the current conflict.

The reported strike comes amid a wider Israeli campaign targeting Iran’s military and security elite. Israeli operations have also reportedly killed other senior figures, including commanders linked to the Basij militia, a key internal security force.

The targeting of high-ranking officials signals a strategy aimed at weakening Iran’s command-and-control capabilities as hostilities continue to expand across the region.

The developments underscore the widening scope of the conflict, which has already drawn in multiple regional actors and disrupted energy markets and security dynamics across the Middle East.

With no confirmation from Tehran and conflicting accounts still emerging, the situation remains fluid.

Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said the attacks began shortly after midnight, with 48 drones launched in roughly two hours.

In a series of posts on X starting at 2:22 a.m. local time, he said Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed all the drones before they reached their intended targets.The strikes form part of a broader pattern of nightly drone operations attributed to Iran, which Saudi officials say have intensified in recent weeks.

The drone barrage came hours after Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, shared a notice attributed to Iran’s military command asserting that the aircraft being used in attacks were not Iranian systems.

According to the statement cited by Enayati, “the enemy” was deploying drones disguised as Iranian-made Shahed drone under the name “Lucas drone,” an allegation that appeared aimed at deflecting responsibility for the strikes.

Saudi authorities did not comment on the claim.

Saudi defense officials said the latest attacks raised the number of drones intercepted in the kingdom to more than 230 since the campaign began.

Defense Ministry statements also show that more than 30 missiles have been shot down during the same period.Other Gulf states have reported similar increases in aerial threats.

Authorities in Bahrain said their air defenses had intercepted 125 missiles and 203 drones, with two people killed there and 24 others across the region.

The United Arab Emirates said its military had engaged 294 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and approximately 1,600 drones during the conflict, reporting six fatalities.

Officials across the Gulf say the attacks have followed a recurring pattern of overnight drone launches followed by relative calm during daylight hours.

The latest strike marks another escalation in the widening confrontation involving Iran, Israel and regional armed groups, which has expanded across several fronts in recent days.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah said its fighters were involved in “direct clashes” with Israeli forces late on Saturday in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam.The group said the fighting involved light and medium weapons as well as rocket-propelled projectiles.

Israeli authorities did not immediately comment on the reported engagement.Cross-border exchanges between Israeli forces and Hezbollah have intensified as the broader conflict spreads across the region.

Lebanon is preparing to form a delegation aimed at negotiating with Israel in an effort to halt the war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Lebanese official said.

“Negotiations are on the table and preparations are underway to form a delegation, but neither the timing nor the location has been determined,” the official said, adding that Paris and Cyprus were being considered as potential venues for talks.

Israel has not publicly committed to participating in such negotiations.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed 826 people since the start of the latest conflict with Hezbollah, including 65 women and 106 children, while 2,009 others had been wounded.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara feared Israel was “moving toward a new genocide under the pretext of fighting Hezbollah” during its ongoing assault on Lebanon.