Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Tuesday that the Israeli military has killed Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, in an overnight airstrike in Tehran, marking one of the most significant blows to Iranian leadership since the start of the war.
Katz also said the strike killed Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij paramilitary force.
Larijani was a central figure in Iran’s security and foreign policy apparatus, having played key roles in nuclear negotiations and war strategy.
The Israeli military says the strikes were part of a broader campaign against Iran’s command structure amid continuing hostilities involving Israel, the United States and Iran.
Iranian authorities have not yet publicly confirmed Larijani’s death, and Tehran remained silent on the developments at the time of reporting.
If verified, the killing would represent one of the highest‑level Iranian officials eliminated in the conflict, following the earlier death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israeli strikes have also continued elsewhere, including operations targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and other Iranian‑linked sites across the region, even as tensions surge and global concerns about wider escalation and energy market disruption grow.
