In the wake of the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, Israeli intelligence services focused their efforts on finding Ali Larijani, who was reportedly Israel’s number one target.

According to senior defence sources, significant intelligence and operational resources were deployed to track and locate Larijani, who had become one of the most hunted figures in Iran’s leadership, a media report said.

Despite the massive hunt, Larijani, known for his ability to avoid detection, managed to stay elusive for two weeks.

He took extensive measures to avoid being located, frequently moving between secret locations to throw off Israeli operatives.

His evasion tactics included shifting to new locations every few days, making it extremely difficult for Israeli intelligence to pinpoint his whereabouts.

Simultaneously, Israeli forces also managed to track and assassinate the leader of the Basij, a paramilitary force in Iran, who was discovered hiding in makeshift tents, attempting to avoid detection.

The operation to eliminate both Larijani and the Basij leader was carried out using “special capabilities” and strategic decisions made quickly by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) leadership.

The Israeli air force jets were deployed on a mission 1,600 kilometres away from the target location, managing to strike both Larijani and Basij officials without failure.

This operation, carried out simultaneously in different locations in Iran, underscores the complexity of the task, particularly in a country as vast and challenging to navigate as Iran, which is far more difficult to access than other nearby regions like Gaza or Lebanon.