On Tuesday, March 17, 2026, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the elimination of Ali Larijani , the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. After hours of silence, Tehran’s state-run Tasnim and Fars news agencies confirmed his death, labeling him a "martyr." Larijani was widely considered the most experienced and practical operator remaining in the Iranian leadership following the February 28 strikes that killed the previous Supreme Leader. 1. The Strike: Precision in Pardis The assassination took place overnight in the Pardis district, a suburb east of Tehran. The Target: Larijani was located at his daughter’s residence, where he had reportedly moved for security. The Casualties: The strike killed Larijani alongside his son, Morteza Larijani , and his deputy for security affairs, Alireza Bayat . Joint Operation: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that a simultaneous strike also killed Gholamreza Soleimani , the commander of the Basij param...
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin has sent letters to thirty tech companies including Amazon, Facebook and Twitter asking them to detail their human rights practices in China after Google threatened to pull out of China. The Democratic Senator of Illinois who is chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on Human Rights and Law also said there would be a hearing in February on Global Internet Freedom. He said the hearing would feature companies like Google and their business practices in internet restricted countries. Durbin's letter comes nearly three weeks after Google Inc. said it would stop censoring search results in China and threatened to pull out of the country altogether after uncovering a hacking attack that emanated from China and attempts to snoop on dissidents. Durbin said he is gathering information about the conduct of other big technology companies to prepare for a hearing on Google's actions in China. The hearing will also examine the Global Network Initiative, a ...