Iran confirms death of Ali Larijani, top aide to Khamenei
Ali Larijani (Photo: x.com/alilarijani_ir)
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed the death of its head, Ali Larijani, after Israel reported that he was killed in an airstrike, according to The Times of Israel.
"The pure souls of the martyrs embraced the purified soul of God’s righteous servant, Martyr Dr. Ali Larijani," the council’s statement read.
They added that Larijani’s son and his bodyguards were also killed. Summarizing the information, the council included an additional statement regarding the death of their head.
"After a lifetime of struggle for the advancement of Iran and of the Islamic Revolution, he ultimately attained his long-held aspiration, answered the divine call, and honorably achieved the sweet grace of martyrdom in the trench of service," the statement read.
Media reports, citing Iranian sources, also say that in addition to Larijani, the council’s security deputy Alireza Bayat and Basij (popular militia) unit commander Gholamreza Soleimani were killed.
How Larijani’s death could have an impact
On March 16, the Israel Defense Forces reported that they carried out nighttime strikes in Iran and eliminated several commanders of security forces. One of them was the Secretary of the Security Council, Ali Larijani, who had been considered a favorite for the position of Iran’s Supreme Leader.
After the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his son Mojtaba was chosen as the new Supreme Leader. However, in practice, Larijani was effectively running the country, coordinating its decisions.
Against this backdrop, The New York Times reported that with Larijani’s death, the key figure in Iran’s power structure is now gone. For this reason, the consequences could be opposite to what was expected.
