Kremlin panics over Iranian leadership elimination, hints at consequences
Russian leader's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov (photo: Getty Images)
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has warned that the elimination of Iranian leaders during the US-Israeli operation "will have very deep consequences," according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
Spokesperson Peskov hopes the current situation in the Middle East does not become the new normal.
"This is the reality we live in, but we must hope it does not become the norm. In any case, it is not normalcy, and it will continue to have very deep consequences. It cannot remain without repercussions," he said.
Elimination of Iranian leaders
On February 28, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his Tehran residence.
His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, succeeded him as the new Supreme Leader and narrowly survived the attack. He was saved only by chance during the strike on his bunker, while the rest of his family was killed.
The Financial Times reported that the operation was made possible by long-term surveillance of his movements using city CCTV cameras. Sources told the outlet that most of Tehran's traffic cameras had been hacked for years, sending data to servers in Israel.
In addition, on March 17, another key Iranian official, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, who played a central role in Moscow-Tehran relations, was eliminated.
Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani was also killed.
Israel further claimed to have eliminated Iran's intelligence minister Esmail Khatib during an overnight strike, though Iran has not officially confirmed his death.
