The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, has been killed in an airstrike carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to official confirmation from Israeli authorities.
Larijani was considered one of the most important figures in the Iranian regime and for years was close to the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. Reports suggest that he was seen as one of the key people in the power hierarchy, after Mojtaba Khamenei. According to Israeli media, the operation to eliminate Larijani was planned earlier, but was postponed at the last moment. Intelligence information then led to his location in an apartment used as a shelter in Tehran, which was hit by the air force. He was reportedly there with his son at the time of the attack.
At the same time as the announcement of the killing, a message written by Larijani was published on his social media, which was later broadcast by Iranian state media. The message commemorated Iranian sailors killed in a recent US attack, whose funerals were expected to take place later in the day.
The event marks a sharp escalation of tensions in the Middle East, while an official reaction from Iranian authorities is awaited.
Ali Larijani was the influential secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). He was appointed in August 2025 by President Masoud Pezeshkian as the secretary of the SNSC and as the representative of the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to the council. Larijani served as the speaker of Iran's parliament for 12 years, from May 2008 to May 2020.
Although he led the Principlist faction in parliament from 2008 to 2012, he has been described as a "moderate conservative" in recent years.
Before becoming speaker of the House of Representatives, Larijani served as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator between 2005 and 2007. His brother, Sadegh Larijani, is another influential figure in the Islamic Republic. He heads the Appropriations Council, a high-level arbitration body that serves as the final arbiter between parliament and the constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council.
