After the Israeli air strike that killed Iran’s senior security chief Ali Larijani, the German federal government has chosen not to give a definitive assessment of the regime’s stability. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office explained that Larijani, who chairs the country’s Supreme National Security Council, played a “central role” in the Iranian leadership. “We are watching what impact his death will have on the stability and future direction of the regime” the official said, adding that, due to a lack of internal information, they could not speculate further.
Israel has intensified its attacks on Iranian leadership. On the same day that Larijani was killed, Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of the powerful paramilitary Basij group, was also hit by an Israeli air strike. Wednesday saw Israel announce the death of Iran’s intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib.
Regarding the legal classification of these operations, the Foreign Office spokesperson referred to earlier remarks. He reiterated that humanitarian international law applies, and that combatants can be legitimate targets of armed attacks-including members of the armed forces of a conflict party.