Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz says Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani has been killed. There has been no comment from Iran so far.

“The prime minister and I have instructed the IDF to continue hunting the leadership of the terror and repression regime in Iran,” the Israeli defense ministry cited Katz as saying in a statement.

Iran’s state‑affiliated Tasnim News Agency later shared on its Telegram channel a hand‑written note from Ali Larijani mourning the navy members killed in recent hostilities, with the letter dated Mar 17.

Who is Ali Larijani?

Ali Larijani is the influential secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).

He was appointed to the role in August 2025 by President Masoud Pezeshkian and also serves as the representative of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the council.

Iranian outlets have described Larijani as an advisor to the late supreme leader.

He served as speaker of Iran’s parliament for 12 years, from May 2008 to May 2020, and led the Principlist faction in parliament from 2008 to 2012, though he has been regarded as a moderate conservative in recent years.

Before his tenure as speaker, Larijani was Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator between 2005 and 2007.

His brother, Sadegh Larijani, is also a key figure in the Islamic Republic, serving as chair of the Expediency Council, the top arbitration body mediating between parliament and the Guardian Council.

Source: Al Jazeera, CNN