Israel says it killed Iran security chief Ali Larijani and head of paramilitary force in air strikes

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TEHRAN – Israel said on March 17 that it had killed Iran’s powerful national security chief, Mr Ali Larijani, in what would be a huge blow to the Islamic republic more than two weeks into the war engulfing the Middle East.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Mr Larijani was “eliminated last night”, although this has not been confirmed by Iran.

“I have just been updated by the chief of staff that Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and the head of the Basij – Iran’s central repression apparatus – were eliminated last night,” Mr Katz said in a statement released by his ministry.

It comes less than three weeks after US-Israeli strikes on Feb 28 killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, triggering a regional war with global repercussions.

Mr Larijani, 68, has been described as a “true insider” in Iran, close to the late ayatollah and central to the republic’s nuclear policy and strategic diplomacy over decades.

After the war broke out, he became even more powerful.

While the new supreme leader, Mr Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen in public since he was appointed to replace his slain father, Mr Larijani was seen walking with crowds at a pro-government rally last week in Tehran.

The whereabouts of Mr Khamenei is the subject of much speculation, and US President Donald Trump said on March 16 that “we don’t know... if he’s dead or not”.

The reported assassination of Mr Larijani comes as strikes shook countries across the Middle East on March 17, from Gulf nations to Iraq, Lebanon and Iran.

An AFP reporter had, earlier on March 17, reported blasts in Tehran, after a night of heavy bombardment mixed with thunder and rain.

Targeting leaders

Since the Oct 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, Israel has pursued what analysts have described as a policy of decapitation, targeting the leaders of its enemies, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, as well as top leaders in Gaza.

Mr Larijani was one of the targets of air strikes carried out by the Israeli military late on March 16 across Iran, four Israeli officials told Reuters.

Israel also said on March 17 that it had killed Mr Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, in a “precise” strike on March 16 in Tehran.

The Basij, a feared militia estimated to number at about a million, played a central role in repressing the anti-government protests that began in January and killed thousands.

Israel also said it had targeted Mr Akram al-Ajouri, head of the military wing of the group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in a strike in Iran, though he was not confirmed dead.

Shortly after Israel said it had killed him, Mr Larijani’s official social media profiles posted a handwritten note by him paying tribute to Iranian sailors killed when a US submarine sank an Iranian frigate in March. The note was not dated, nor did the post address the claim of his death, which Iran has not confirmed.

“The martyrdom of the brave men of the Navy of the Army of the Islamic Republic aboard the Dena is part of the sacrifices of the valiant nation that has emerged at this juncture of struggle against international oppressors,” said Mr Larijani’s note, which was written in black ink.

The mariners were killed when the IRIS Dena was torpedoed on March 4 just off the coast of Sri Lanka, in an incident that extended the Middle East war to the Indian Ocean.

“Their memory will always remain in the heart of the Iranian nation, and these martyrdoms will strengthen the foundations of the Army of the Islamic Republic for years within the structure of the armed forces,” it added.

Trump appeals

Across the region, hundreds of people have been killed and millions more displaced in the war, which has also sent oil prices soaring.

In retaliation for the US-Israel attacks, Iran has targeted US interests, energy facilities and civilian infrastructure of its energy-rich neighbours.

Its threats and attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global crude oil passes, have also all but closed the key waterway.

Oil prices surged around 3 per cent on March 17 after several countries pushed back on Mr Trump’s demand that they help secure the strait by sending warships to escort tankers.

The US President has warned that it would be “very bad” for the future of the NATO military alliance if the allies refused to help.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London was working with allies to craft a “viable” plan to reopen the strait, but ruled out a NATO mission. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on March 16 that the war was “not a matter for NATO”, while EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels indicated no appetite to join the conflict.

Analysts said it was not surprising that America’s partners were unenthusiastic about joining a war they were not consulted on, after a year of tensions with Washington on everything from tariffs to Greenland.

The US had “launched a war without consulting allies, expecting them to mop up the mess, and that’s not going to fly”, said Dr Erwan Lagadec of George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Mr Trump has also appealed to China to help on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iraq drawn in

Mr Trump on March 17 admitted he was “shocked” at Iran’s response to the US-Israel attacks, saying: “They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. Those missiles were set to go after them.

“So, they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”

Falling debris from missile intercepts killed one person on March 17 in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi and injured two medical staff members in Kuwait, respectively, the authorities said.

The UAE’s oil industrial zone of Fujairah was also hit on March 17 morning, sparking a fire but causing no injuries, the local authorities said.

Israel carried out new strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 17, and again ordered residents of vast parts of southern Lebanon to evacuate.

More than a million people have been displaced across Lebanon, while Israeli strikes have killed 886 people, including 67 women and 111 children, since March 2, Lebanon’s health ministry says.

Lebanon was drawn into the war when Tehran-backed Hezbollah militants struck Israel over Mr Ali Khamenei’s killing.

The war is also spreading to Iraq, which has long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, but has sought to avoid taking sides.

A drone and rocket attack targeted the US embassy in Baghdad early on March 17, while a strike killed four people at a house reportedly hosting Iranian advisers, security officials said. REUTERS, AFP