Iran confirms death of national security chief Larijani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran on Tuesday confirmed the death of Ali Larijani, secretary of the country’s supreme national security council, after Israel earlier said it had killed him in an airstrike.

“The pure souls of the martyrs embraced the purified soul of God’s righteous servant, Martyr Dr. Ali Larijani,” the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said in a statement, adding that his son and several bodyguards were also killed in the strike.

“After a lifetime of struggle for the advancement of Iran and the Islamic Revolution, he ultimately attained his long-held aspiration, answered the divine call, and honourably achieved the grace of martyrdom in the line of service,” the statement added.

The announcement comes after a joint US-Israeli strike on February 28 reportedly killed Iran’s longtime supreme leader Ali Khamenei (1939–2026).

While Khamenei’s second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has since been appointed as the new supreme leader, Larijani, 68, was considered one of the most influential figures in Iran’s leadership and played a central role in Tehran’s nuclear policy and strategic diplomacy for decades.

Larijani was appointed secretary of the SNSC in August, placing him at the helm of Iran’s highest security body.

Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had also targeted and “eliminated” Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij, a large volunteer paramilitary force under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran confirmed Soleimani's killing, too.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that the joint US-Israel campaign against Iran could “wrap up soon.”

The campaign began on February 28, with United States Central Command saying Tuesday that the operation - dubbed Operation Epic Fury - has targeted more than 7,000 sites across Iran, aiming to dismantle the country’s security infrastructure.

In response, Iran said earlier this month it had launched more than 2,000 drones and over 600 missiles targeting US and Israeli positions across the region, particularly in Gulf Arab states, as part of its multi-front retaliation, dubbed Operation True Promise 4.