President Herzog Meets Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna

President Herzog: “The removal of Ali Larijani and the Commander of the Basij is a very important step, because the people of Iran need to have the lid open so that they can protest”

On March 17, 2026, President Isaac Herzog met with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna during his visit to Israel. President Herzog thanked Foreign Minister Tsahkna for visiting Israel during the war, and noted that this is a sign of the strength of the friendship between Israel and Estonia.

During their meeting, President Herzog addressed the eliminations of the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, and the Commander of the Basij force, Gholamreza Soleimani:

“It seems that Ali Larijani was removed and incapacitated, and so was the Commander of the Basij. This is a very important step, because the people of Iran need to have the lid open so that they can protest.

“I will remind people about Ali Larijani. In 2006 there was the Second Lebanon War. How did it start? By the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers who were doing their patrol on the border. Ali Larijani, that morning took a flight out of Lebanon. He was there as head of the National Security Council of Iran — he came to plan with Nasrallah this operation, give him the okay, because that’s how they operate with proxies. And that was one of the most brutal wars we had. That was the first in a series of wars.

“So, Ali Larijani spread terror and hate in the worst kind of decision making processes throughout the history in the last generation. And so is the head of the Basij. I hope, sincerely, that the Middle East will see a new horizon out of this conflict. And I hope that also the benefit of the world and Europe will be the same.