Who were the Iranian leaders killed in airstrikes?

0:00These days, it feels like the news changes every hour. Well, NPR has a podcast that does that, too. NPR News Now brings you a fresh five-minute episode every hour of the day with the latest, most important headlines in episodes that are clear, fact-based and easy to digest. Listen to NPR News Now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Today on State of the World, who were the Iranian leaders recently killed in airstrikes?

0:33You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories, up close where they're happening. It's Tuesday, February 17th. I'm Greg Dixon. In a few minutes, we'll hear from some of the over one million Lebanese displaced by fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. First, Israel says it has killed two top Iranian leaders in airstrikes. This is another blow to Iran's remaining leadership. One of the men was believed to be directing the current war effort. And these deaths come after Israel killed Iran's supreme leader on the first day of the war. Iran has reacted by sending missiles and drones into both Israel and neighboring Gulf states.

1:16We're going to hear more about the people killed and what this could mean from NPR's Carrie Khan in Tel Aviv. She spoke to Elsa Chang. So let's start with Israel here. What have officials there been saying so far about the killings? Israeli officials said it killed the leader of the feared paramilitary besieged forces and the head of the National Security Council. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement, he touted the killing saying they show that Israel has risen into a formidable power in the region.

1:51We are almost a global superpower fighting shoulder to shoulder with a friend who is the world's superpower, he said. And he urged the Israeli public to ignore, quote, channels of gloom that criticize Israel. Despite claims of achieving total control of Iranian airspace, that's both by Israel and the U.S., Iran was more active today, firing nearly a dozen missiles into Israel. Can we talk about the two men believed to have been killed? One of them was believed to have been running Iran's war effort up until now. Is that right? Right. His name is Ali Lurajani, and he has a long career in the Iranian political upper echelons.

2:30He was the Speaker of the Parliament, among other appointments, and was a top advisor to the assassinated supreme leader. And after Israel killed the leader, it was widely believed that Laranjani was running Iran. He was also involved in talks with the Trump administration before the war. And here's Zaid Raad al-Hussein. He's a former Jordanian diplomat and president of the International Peace Institute. He says he was surprised Laranjani was targeted. Because he seemed to be the one person who the international community could talk to. And now with him apparently having been killed, it's difficult to see who one speaks to in the IRGC.

3:11The IRGC being a powerful branch of the Iranian security apparatus. Okay. And the other man assassinated by Israel, this was the head of the besiege paramilitary forces? Yes. Golem Reza Soleimani. He headed the feared plainclothes police. These are the forces that headed that violent crackdown on protests earlier this year that killed thousands of Iranians. And that's according to U.S.-based human rights groups. He has run that repressive militia for seven years. Israel says the airstrike that killed him was on a makeshift tent headquarters for the Basij. And other commanders were also killed in that attack.

3:48Carrie, can you also just step back and bring us up to speed on other fronts in this war, like mainly the Gulf and Lebanon? Where are we there at this point? Sure. Iran has been actively firing today into the Gulf. The UAE defense ministry reported intercepting dozens of missiles and drones. An official there told NPR on condition of anonymity in order to discuss security issues that Iran must realize they are not helping themselves by attacking their whole neighborhood and that any new negotiations with Iran must include not only controlling its nuclear capabilities, but also its missiles, which the official says are now, quote, center stage and not seen as weapons of self-defense.

4:28And the situation in Lebanon is volatile. Israeli troops began a new ground incursion into southern Lebanon this week. The death toll there has reached more than 900 people, with more than 1.2 million people displaced. And that's according to Lebanese officials. That is NPR's Keri Khan in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Keri. You're welcome. As Kerry just mentioned, another front in the war with Iran is on the Israel-Lebanon border. Fighting there between Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israel has caused a displacement crisis as Lebanese civilians flee north to places like Beirut. There, NPR's Hadil al-Shalchi introduces us to some of the displaced.

5:11Al-Maza Hussain sweeps away cigarette butts and dust from a small space in the middle of a downtown Beirut parking lot. This is where she'll spend the night. The 25-year-old mother of two small children only has a few blankets to sleep under. Her family fled the southern Beirut suburb of Burj al-Barajni a few days ago. They tried to find somewhere to sleep and the schools turned to shelters. We were told they're all full, she says. Hussain is with her friend, 47-year-old Suzanne Mirdan, who also fled with her husband and two children. Mirdan says they had to run with the clothes on their backs and is now also sleeping in the parking lot.

5:56Mirdan points to a few donated blankets she's folded in a pile on the floor. That's all her family has to cover up at night. And it's cold, so much colder than you can imagine, she says. Hossein and Mordhan are one of hundreds of thousands who are now homeless. Beirut is straining to accommodate so many in need, say Lebanese officials. The sidewalks in East Beirut, overlooking the beach, are crowded with tired people in makeshift tents and on the grass.

6:28In the outskirts of Beirut, at a huge soccer stadium, the scene is as desperate. Children chase each other in the parking lot, littered with trash. As the sound of the Israeli drone hums incessantly overhead. Tents made of white tarp fill the concourses. With such limited space, multiple families have to share. Maisun Man now sleeps in a tent with six other people after days on the street. They couldn't stay in their South Beirut neighborhood under constant bombing from Israel. The 45-year-old mother says the stadium is so packed without enough bathrooms, it's unlivable.

7:11We can't bathe, she says. We can't perform our cleansing in order to pray during Ramadan. In a nearby tent, Ahmad Ruda opens the Velcro flap of his tent, where mattresses and blankets are neatly stacked.

7:29We tried to get the kids used to their new reality, he says. Rida, a father of seven, is in a wheelchair. He says he tried to find an apartment to rent or a hotel room, but he kept getting turned away.

7:45They won't take us if our women wear hijab, he says. Some here think religious hijab-wearing Muslims from the south may support Hezbollah, and that could make them a target of Israeli airstrikes. Both Ma 'an and Rada have been at the stadium before. This is the same place where tens of thousands of people packed for former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's funeral last year.

8:10We receive his blessings here, Ma 'an says. His spirit is all around us. While her support for Hezbollah is unwavering, widespread backing has cracked. Many blame the Iranian-backed militants for dragging Lebanon into this war by launching rockets into Israel. Back in the downtown Beirut parking structure, Suzanne Mirdan tries to keep some sort of order in the part of the concrete lot they've been forced to live in now. Her heart breaks for her children. They're just kids, she says. What did they do to deserve this? Hadil Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Beirut.

8:58That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.

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