Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained out of public sight, condemned Israel's assassination of a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander through an online statement.
On Tuesday, Mojtaba posted a statement on social media mourning Brigadier General Seyed Majid Kademi, head of the IRGC's intelligence organization (SAS), who was killed in an Israeli strike that day.
"The American and Zionist enemies, having suffered successive defeats and seen their evil plans thwarted, are clinging to their usual methods of terror and assassination," Mojtaba said. "The ranks of our warriors and military are so firm and solid that they sustain no impact whatsoever."
Mojtaba has not appeared at official events or released any audio recordings or photographs. Yet as the war drags on, he has increasingly emphasized unity in his messages to the Iranian public. On the same day, Mojtaba's office announced a commemoration of the 40th day since the "martyrdom" of Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war, encouraging Iranians to "attach 'resurrection of blood' symbols to promotional, informational, and propaganda materials they produce, print, and distribute." Mojtaba also launched a "Hope Tree Planting" campaign, calling on Iranians to "plant trees from Nature Day (April 2) through the end of spring."
Israel has continued conducting decapitation operations targeting Iran's leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Katz said, "We eliminated the Revolutionary Guards intelligence chief in the early hours today," adding, "We will track down and eliminate Iran's leaders one by one."
The IRGC confirmed that Brigadier General Kademi was killed in an enemy airstrike targeting the vicinity of Tehran, pointing to the United States and Israel as the forces behind the attack.
Brigadier General Kademi had been appointed head of the IRGC's intelligence organization as the successor to Mohammad Kazemi, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the "12-Day War" last year. The organization operates independently from the Iranian government's intelligence ministry and is responsible for monitoring dissidents, conducting personnel inspections within the Revolutionary Guards and government, and counterintelligence. It is considered more influential and better informed than the intelligence ministry.