Iran's IRGC Confirms Killing Of Basij Force Commander Gholamreza Soleimani, Warns Of 'Bloodlust'

Last Updated:March 18, 2026, 01:04 IST

The IRGC said Soleimani "played a strategic and unparalleled role in updating the Basij’s popular structure" and provided assistance to "oppressed" people.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Tuesday confirmed the killing of its Basij force commander General Gholamreza Soleimani in an Israeli strike on Tehran, saying that he was killed in an “attack by the American-Zionist enemy."

In a statement carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, the IRGC said Soleimani “played a strategic and unparalleled role in updating the Basij’s popular and jihadi structure, developing constructive movements, eliminating deprivation, and providing assistance to the oppressed and vulnerable groups."

“This cowardly assassination demonstrates the importance and role of the Basij in the all-out battle against the American terrorist army and the Zionist regime and their mercenaries, especially in the recent war," it added.

The IRGC further warned the US and Israel that the Basij unit will “never abandon the bloodlust of the martyred leader, martyred commanders, and various members of the people’s martyrs." It said their deaths will “double the will of the heroic Iranian nation and all the Basij fighters to continue the path of resistance."

Israeli Strikes On Tehran

Israel on Tuesday claimed it had killed Iran’s powerful national security chief Ali Larijani, along with Gholamreza Soleimani. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a televised statement that he had been informed by Israel’s military chief that both officials “were eliminated last night".

The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), founded by former Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the 1979 revolution. The force operates local branches across Iranian cities and is frequently deployed on the front lines of protests to maintain internal security.

ALSO READ: Israel Claims To Have Killed Iran’s Basij Commander. Who Are The IRGC-Backed Paramilitary Forces?

In a statement on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it struck more than 10 Basij posts in Tehran, killing the unit’s commander and dismantling hundreds of headquarters and command-and-control centres across the country.

“Over the past several weeks, the IDF systematically targeted the unit’s command infrastructure. Following these operations, it was identified that Basij forces had relocated their activities to alternative headquarters, which were subsequently struck. After repeated strikes, a renewed deployment of Basij forces was identified, with forces operating from posts embedded within public areas in the heart of Tehran," said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

“The recent strikes, alongside the elimination of the unit’s commander, Gholamreza Soleimani, inflict significant and ongoing damage to the capabilities of the Basij unit," it added.

The war, now in its third week, has killed at least 1,300 people in Iran, 850 in Lebanon, and 12 in Israel, according to official figures. The US military reports 13 American service members have died and roughly 200 have been wounded.

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