RTVE NoticiasIsrael claims to have killed Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and considered one of the regime’s most powerful men, in a nighttime airstrike on Tehran.
According to Israeli authorities, Larijani was killed along with Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani in a targeted killing operation during the wave of bombings against Iranian leaders. His position was key: he controlled national security and had more influence than the president himself and even the newly appointed Supreme Leader.
Larijani’s elimination represents the biggest blow to the regime since the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in February, also in joint US-Israeli airstrikes. His disappearance leaves the Iranian security structure leaderless in the midst of a regional conflict and breaks the circle of power that managed the country’s military response and foreign strategy.
