JERUSALEM, Israel – President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the elimination of Iran’s de facto leader, who was killed in an airstrike on Monday, calling him the bully of the Middle East.
The Prime Minister’s Office shared a photo showing the moment Netanyahu ordered the airstrike, killing the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Basij Force, along with Ali Larijani, who was serving as the leader of the Tehran regime after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
President Trump declared, “He was in charge of the killing of protesters. It’s an evil group. I mean, they’ve killed much more than 32,000 people.”
Meanwhile, Israel says it has also eliminated another top Iranian official, which would be the third in two days. Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was reportedly killed in an overnight strike.
Netanyahu asserted that the deadly precision airstrikes prove Israel is watching Iran. He indicated more surprises are on the way, as he encouraged Iranians to celebrate their New Year. “This is meant to enable the great people of Iran to celebrate the Festival of Fire, so celebrate, and Happy Nowruz. We are watching from above,” he announced.
Iran’s top diplomat is promising retaliation. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that there will be a “wave of global repercussions, regardless of wealth, faith, or race.”
In Washington, the nation’s top counter-terrorism official, Joe Kent, resigned, saying Iran poses no imminent threat and claiming that the U.S. was drawn into the war by Israel.
Former F.B.I. Deputy Co-Director Dan Bongino countered on Fox News, saying, “I had access to just about everything and how you can come to the conclusion that the Israelis did it and there is no imminent threat here – really?
Trump responded to the resignation, noting, “I read his statement. I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he very weak on security, very weak on security.”
Trump also leveled criticism of NATO and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer for their lack of help in the war. Pointing to a bust of legendary British leader Winston Churchill, the president said, “You know, unfortunately, Keir is not Winston Churchill.”
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As the war moves into Day 19, the Israel Defense Forces are taking down buildings in Lebanon, reportedly used for terrorist operations.
And in Israel, an Iranian cluster bomb killed two people in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv.
In the information war, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee posted a new video showing him walking with Netanyahu to counter a barrage of AI-generated images claiming the prime minister is dead, and Israel is leveled.
Gil Hoffman, director of the media watchdog group Honest Reporting, told CBN News, “What’s going on right now is psychological warfare, and what is being tested right now, if it works, will be used all around the world and will make the entire world more unsafe.”
Boasting that Iran’s navy and air force are destroyed and their missile capability is down to eight percent, Trump claims Iran is “no longer the bully of the Middle East.”
Trump explained, “We’re not ready to leave yet. But we will be leaving in the near future. We’ll be leaving pretty much in the very near future, but right now, they’ve been decimated from every standpoint.”
