Israel's Defense Minister announced the successful killing of Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and the commander of the Basij forces following an airstrike in the Iranian capital last night. If confirmed, this would be Iran's greatest loss since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Israel's Defense Minister, Yoav Katz, stated that Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Gholam Reza Soleimani, commander of the semi-military Basij forces, were killed in an operation on the night of Monday, 16 March.
"I just received an update from the Chief of Staff that Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Basij leader Soleimani—key figures in Iran's repression apparatus—were eliminated last night," Katz said in a statement from the Ministry of Defense.
So far, Iranian authorities have not confirmed or denied these reports. However, Iranian state media published a handwritten note by Larijani on his social media channels, mourning Iranian naval soldiers killed in a U.S. attack in international waters, with their funeral scheduled for Tuesday. It remains unclear whether releasing this note was intended to prove he is still alive.
If the death is confirmed, Larijani would be the highest-ranking individual killed in this conflict since the joint U.S.-Israeli operation that resulted in the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his family on 28 February.
Ali Larijani has long been a key figure in Iran's power structure. He formerly served as Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and was head of Iran's nuclear negotiation team with Western countries. He last appeared publicly on Friday at the Al-Quds Day march alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Israeli military stated on the X platform that the operation was driven by precise military intelligence. The air force targeted central Tehran to eliminate Gholam Reza Soleimani, commander of the Basij forces responsible for internal security under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for the past six years.
/sourceAl Jazeera