Israel Says It Kills Top Iranian Security Chief Ali Larijani In Overnight Strike

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Tuesday that Israel military killed Iranian security chief Ali Larijani in an overnight strike.

The Israeli military also killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, in the same operation.

Iranian state media did not immediately confirm either death but said Larijani’s office would publish a message shortly.

“Larijani and the Basij commander were eliminated last night and have joined Khamenei, the head of the annihilation program, along with all those eliminated from the axis of evil in the depths of hell,” Katz said in a statement.

Naija News gathered that the killings removed more top leaders from the Iranian government after the February 28 strike killed 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Larijani Served As Top Security Adviser

Larijani comes from one of Iran’s most famous political families. The former parliamentary speaker and senior policy adviser advised the late Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration. He also served as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, its top security body.

The US Treasury sanctioned Larijani, born June 3, 1958, in January, as Iran violently crushed nationwide protests. The Treasury identified him as being “responsible for coordinating the response to the protests on behalf of the supreme leader of Iran.”

The nationwide protests in January and the violent crackdown that followed killed thousands and detained tens of thousands.

Larijani served as parliament speaker from 2008 to 2020. His brother Sadeq served as head of Iran’s judiciary.

According to reports, the late Khamenei blocked Larijani from running for president in 2021 after he positioned himself as a pragmatic candidate who would back a return to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Meanwhile, Larijani’s office published a handwritten letter in Farsi without acknowledging the Israeli claim of his death. The office said he wrote the letter on behalf of the crew killed aboard the IRIS Dena, the Iranian frigate that a US submarine sank in the war.