Iran confirmed on Tuesday that Israel had killed Ali Larijani in an overnight strike, removing one of the most influential figures in the country’s leadership.
Larijani, who served as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, had emerged as a central power broker after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28. Long regarded as Khamenei’s trusted confidant and chosen deputy, he was widely seen as the de facto leader of the Islamic Republic in the aftermath of the supreme leader’s death.
Analysts say Khamenei had viewed Larijani as a key figure capable of carrying forward the Islamic Revolution. “His removal significantly disrupts that continuity,” said Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
A veteran insider from a prominent clerical family, Larijani played a leading role in shaping Iran’s domestic and foreign policy. He oversaw efforts to negotiate a nuclear agreement with the United States and was also linked by critics to the government’s harsh response to anti-government protests earlier this year. The U.S. Treasury had previously sanctioned him, accusing him of supporting violence against demonstrators.
Before rising to the top ranks of government, Larijani was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and served as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator between 2005 and 2007, defending Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. He also previously headed the Supreme National Security Council and later served as speaker of parliament from 2008 to 2020, a period that included the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has accused Larijani of playing a central role in the 2006 abduction and killing of Israeli soldiers, an incident that triggered the Second Lebanon War. According to Herzog, Larijani was in Lebanon at the time, coordinating closely with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Larijani also made several bids for Iran’s presidency, including in 2005, and later attempted to run in the 2021 and 2024 elections. However, he was disqualified by the Guardian Council, reportedly over concerns related to his personal life and family connections abroad.
He was reappointed last August as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council following a brief but intense air conflict between Iran and Israel. In recent months, he had been actively engaged in diplomacy, traveling to Oman for indirect talks with the United States and making multiple visits to Moscow to discuss strategic and security issues.
Experts say Larijani’s influence extended well beyond his formal roles. Meir Ben-Shabbat, a former adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu and current head of the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy, said that after Khamenei’s death, Larijani effectively coordinated Iran’s security apparatus and directed its confrontation with Israel.
His assassination marks a major escalation in tensions and leaves a significant gap in Iran’s leadership at a critical moment.
