Israel has claimed to have killed Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
In a statement, Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz said he was just informed of the top Iranian security official’s death following Israeli strikes overnight.
Larijani was last seen publicly on Friday, attending the Al-Quds Day rally in support of Palestinians in Tehran, along with President Masoud Pezeshkian.
If confirmed, Larijani would be the highest-level killing in the war since United States-Israeli strikes killed former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several members of his family, on the first day of the war they launched on February 28, 2026.
Also killed in the first wave of strikes were Security Adviser Ali Shamkhani, Defence Minister Amir Nasirzadeh, Revolutionary Guards Commander General Mohammad Pakpour, and armed forces Chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi.
Larijani has been a key political figure in the Iranian hierarchy for years, at one time leading the nation’s nuclear negotiations with the West. Previously, he was also the Iranian Speaker of the parliament.
Apparently referring to the high-profile killing, Katz said on social media, “The leaders of the regime are being killed and their capabilities terminated.” “Our army is working with strength to continue to hit and terminate the missile capabilities as well as the strategic infrastructure,” he added.
Katz praised Israeli air force pilots and intelligence officials involved in the operation.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media published a handwritten note by Larijani, though it was not clear whether it was intended as proof of the life of the senior official.
Larijani’s note, published on his social media pages hours before Israel claimed to have killed him, commemorates 84 Iranian sailors, whose funeral is expected on Tuesday, killed in a US attack on their naval ship in international waters.
Larijani told Muslim-majority nations of Tehran’s position and reasserted that his country is not going to relent in the fight against the US and Israel. Larijani appealed to a religious sense of duty for Muslims to stand together, saying with few exceptions Islamic countries have failed to support Iran against what he called “treacherous aggression.”
“Is the stance of certain Islamic governments not at odds with the Prophet [Mohammad]’s saying: ’Whoever hears a man calling out, ‘O Muslims!’ and fails to answer him is not a Muslim?’”
Ali Larijani
He went on to justify Iran’s attacks across the region, which countries in the Gulf have described as blatant aggression against their sovereignty, appearing to warn there is no middle ground in the ongoing confrontations. “Which side are you on?” Larijani asked.
He followed his thinly veiled warning by emphasising Iran is not seeking domination over its neighbours. “The unity of the Islamic nation, if realised with full strength, is capable of guaranteeing security, progress and independence for all its states,” Larijani added.
Basij Commander Killed
Moreover, Israel Katz said that Israeli forces also killed the top security official and Basij Commander Gholamreza Soleimani.
“The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to continue hunting down the leadership of the regime of terror and oppression in Iran.
“US President Trump spoke about the high rate of turnover of Iran’s leadership… we will update him that the high rate of turnover continues and is even increasing following the assassination of two of the most senior remaining leaders.”
Israel Katz
The Israeli military claimed in a post on X earlier that it had killed Gholamreza Soleimani, the Commander of Basij, the internal security paramilitary militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Guided by precise intelligence from Military Intelligence, the Air Force conducted a targeted strike yesterday in the heart of Tehran, eliminating Gholam Reza Soleimani, Commander of the Basij unit over the past six years.”
Israeli Military
The United States Treasury records Soleimani’s birth year as 1965. He has been sanctioned by the US, the European Union and other countries for his alleged role in suppressing dissent through the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force under the IRGC, founded after the 1979 revolution and tasked with enforcing internal security nationwide.
It operates local branches across cities and is frequently deployed on the front lines of protests to crack down, including the antigovernment demonstrations that erupted across Iran in January, in which thousands were reportedly killed, and stretching back to the 2009 mass protests against what opponents called a stolen presidential election.
The Basij and other internal security forces have been frequent targets of attack by the US and Israeli forces so far in the war.
Iran is yet to confirm whether Larijani and Soleimani have been killed.
