Israel Tuesday claimed it killed Ali Larijani, the top Iranian security official who was seen as a key decision maker in Iran. The Israeli military also said it had killed Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force.
Tehran hasn’t yet commented on these claims.
The killings, if confirmed, strip away another set of top leaders from the Iranian administration after coordinated US and Israeli strikes on February 28 strike killed the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with Iranian Defence chief and the head of IRGC.
Ali Larijani is the Iranian Supreme National Security Council secretary who was also a confidante of the late Khamenei and the Iranian Parliament Speaker. It was Larijani who reaffirmed that the governance will continue without any disruptions following Khamenei’s killing on February 28, 2026.
Larijani was recently seen taking part in the Quds Day rally on Friday, March 14, along with President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Larijani hails from one of Iran’s most influential political families and has been the senior policy adviser to Khamenei and carried out nuclear talks with the Trump administration. Larijani was also part of the US nuclear negotiations with Russia and China.
On Larijani’s official Twitter account, a handwritten note was posted on March 17 commemorating the “martyrs” of the Iranian Navy, moments after Israel claimed it had killed him.
به مناسبت مراسم تشییع سلحشوران نیروی دریایی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران: یاد آنان همواره در قلب ملت ایران خواهد بود و این شهادتها بنیان ارتش جمهوری اسلامی را برای سالها در ساختار نیروهای مسلح استوار مینماید. ازخداوند متعال علو درجات برای این شهدای عزیز خواستارم.
— Ali Larijani | علی لاریجانی (@alilarijani_ir)
Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of Basij militia forces, is also claimed to have been killed by the Israeli forces.
Israeli forces previously called Soleimani and Basij militia forces an “armed apparatus of the Iranian terror regime”.
Basij under Soleimani is reported to have unleashed “violent regressive operations and widespread civilian arrests” in Iran during its internal protests, the AP reported.
US and Israeli forces have targeted the Basij and other Iranian internal forces during the overnight operation.
