In a major development for Israel’s campaign against the Iranian regime’s security forces, which now allegedly use schools as hideouts and children for propaganda purposes, the Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it killed the head of the Basij volunteer paramilitary force in a “precise strike” near Tehran.
“Yesterday (Monday), the Israeli Air Force, acting on IDF intelligence, targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past six years,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
In a post on social media, the IDF said Soleimani has been the Basij forces’ commander for the last six years, with a rank equivalent to that of brigadier general.
Under his command “the Basij unit led the main repression operations in Iran, employing severe violence, widespread arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators,” the IDF said.
The Basij units are a paramilitary force of volunteers linked to the IRGC, which is the backbone of the Iranian regime’s security force, responsible for killing and injuring hundreds of opposition protesters before the war.
If confirmed, Soleimani’s killing represents a major victory for Israel’s ongoing and intense bombing campaign against the Iranian regime’s security forces.
It is set to send shockwaves through Tehran’s complex security establishment after hundreds of its members have been reportedly killed in Israeli precision strikes since the war started.
According to media reports, nearly 300 Basij field commanders and officials were killed in Monday night strikes alone. Brigadier General Ghasem Qoreishi, Basij deputy commander, is said to be among the dead.
The Israeli military has been relentlessly bombing the feared Basij militia’s checkpoints and military facilities in Tehran to weaken the regime’s security apparatus that it uses to brutally crack down on any protests and dissent.
Multiple social media accounts observed by Euronews’ Persian service over the last week claim that ordinary Iranian citizens film Basij checkpoints or military hideouts, posting locators, photos or videos on social media.
The pushback against the Basij came after hundreds of Iranian protesters were killed by the militia and other security forces during the violent crackdown on the widespread opposition protests preceding the war.
In turn, Israel has reportedly continued to gather and verify some of the intelligence from these videos and photos posted by ordinary Iranians on social media as a targeting geolocation method.
Over the last days new videos from Tehran surfaced on social media showing the Basij and IRGC units hiding under bridges and inside tunnels to avoid Israeli detection and strikes from the air.
Yet in a disturbing new development and as a sign of the effect the Israeli targeting is having on them, social media reports from Tehran over the last days indicate that the Basij and IGRC are now reportedly moving for cover from checkpoints, roadblocks and military facilities into empty schools and kindergartens to escape the Israeli strikes.
Some posts indicate precise locations and show photos and secretly filmed videos by Iranians to reveal the Bajis’ new tactics.
Additionally, Iranian opposition website Tavaana published a video on X, which it says was initially posted by IRCG-linked Fars News Agency, purporting to show children physically present alongside their fathers.
The post claims that the men seen in the video are queuing to join the Basij volunteer force to man the checkpoints in Tehran.
“Fars news agency has published a video showing a line of people waiting to join security checkpoints. Among them, the noticeable presence of many children stands out — children who are placed alongside adults in what is clearly a security and militarised environment,” the Tavaana post claims.
The use of children for propaganda purposes in government-organised events is not new.
For years, children have been brought to official gatherings, such as state rallies and Quds Day marches, where they are exposed to political slogans and narratives.
According to reports, the next top target is likely Ahmad Reza Radan, commander-in-chief of the Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Radan appeared on Monday night among regime supporters and Basij paramilitaries in Tehran, urging them not to back down in front of protesters.