Israel has claimed that Iran’s national security chief, Ali Larijani, was killed in a targeted strike, in what could mark a major escalation in the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Larijani was “eliminated” alongside Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force.

According to Katz, the operation was carried out overnight based on intelligence provided to Israel’s military leadership.

“He has joined Khamenei… along with all those eliminated from the axis of evil,” Katz said in a statement, referencing previous high-profile killings during the conflict.

The Israeli military had earlier announced the killing of Soleimani, describing it as a “precise strike in Tehran”.

“Yesterday, the Israeli Air Force, acting on intelligence, targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past six years,” the military said.

The Basij, a paramilitary force under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been linked to internal security operations, including crackdowns on protests.

A photo released by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed him on the phone, with a caption indicating he had ordered the targeting of senior Iranian figures.

However, Iranian authorities have not officially confirmed the reported killing of Larijani as of the time of filing this report.

If confirmed, the death would represent one of the highest-profile assassinations in the conflict, following the earlier killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and other top officials during the wave of US-Israeli strikes that began on February 28.

The latest development underscores the intensifying hostilities between Israel and Iran, raising fears of further escalation in the region.