Iran’s Security Chief Ali Larijani Killed in Israeli Strike, Tehran Vows Retaliation
Death of Supreme National Security Council head marks most significant leadership loss since Khamenei assassination as war enters third week
TEHRAN — March 18, 2026 — Iran has confirmed the death of its top security official, Ali Larijani, in an Israeli airstrike on Tehran, marking the most significant blow to the Islamic Republic’s leadership since the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei nearly three weeks ago and triggering new waves of missile strikes on Israel .
The Supreme National Security Council announced Larijani’s death on Tuesday, describing him as having “honourably achieved the sweet grace of martyrdom in the trench of service” after a lifetime of dedication to Iran and the Islamic Revolution . The council confirmed that Larijani’s son, Morteza, and his bodyguards were also killed in the attack that targeted an eastern Tehran neighborhood where Larijani had gone to visit his daughter .
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Iran’s Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani was also killed in separate strikes, with both figures representing core pillars of the regime’s internal security and strategic decision-making apparatus .
The Rise and Fall of a Power Broker
Larijani, 67, had effectively been running Iran’s war effort and daily governance following the February 28 death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli strikes that ignited the current regional conflagration . While ineligible for the supreme leadership because he was not a Shiite cleric, Larijani served as the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s most trusted advisor and operational commander, orchestrating Iran’s retaliatory campaign across the Middle East .
Israeli officials described Larijani as “the de facto leader of Iran” and “the one calling the shots” directing attacks against Israel and regional states . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized him as “the boss of the Revolutionary Guards, which is the gang of gangsters that actually runs Iran” .
Born in Najaf, Iraq, in 1958 into one of Iran’s most prominent political families—often compared to the Kennedys in the United States—Larijani’s career spanned four decades of Iranian governance . He served as culture minister in the 1990s tightening censorship, parliament speaker from 2008 to 2020, and most recently as head of the Supreme National Security Council following his appointment by President Masoud Pezeshkian in August 2025 .
A philosopher by training who authored six books including three on Immanuel Kant, Larijani combined intellectual gravitas with hardline security credentials earned during the Iran-Iraq War and decades of suppressing internal dissent . He played a central role in the brutal crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands, according to human rights organizations .
Final Days and Defiance
Larijani’s last public appearance came on Friday at the annual Quds Day rally in Tehran, where he walked among crowds in a show of resilience and defiance . Just one week before his death, he had responded defiantly to US President Donald Trump’s threat to attack Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” over the Strait of Hormuz blockade .
“The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran,” Larijani posted on X. “Be careful not to get eliminated yourself” .
Hours before his death, Larijani’s official social media accounts posted a handwritten note he had composed paying tribute to Iranian sailors killed in a US submarine attack .
Immediate Retaliation
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it launched missile strikes targeting Tel Aviv in direct response to Larijani’s killing, marking the 61st wave of attacks against Israeli targets since the conflict began . According to Iranian state media, missiles including Khorramshahr-4, Qadr, Emad, and Kheibar Shekan were used in the operation, with cluster warhead missiles employed in the attack on Israel’s commercial hub .
Initial reports indicated multiple vehicles destroyed and fires breaking out across several areas of Tel Aviv, with buildings sustaining significant damage and at least two people killed, though these figures could not be independently verified .
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Regional Escalation
The assassination comes amid intensifying strikes across the Middle East as the US-Israeli campaign against Iran expands. Israel’s military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin signaled that the operation to eliminate Iran’s leadership would continue, vowing to “track down, find, and neutralise” Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since his father’s death .
Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that Israeli forces would continue “hunting down the leadership of the regime of terror” and “repeatedly cut off the head of the octopus” .
In Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah has been engaged in heavy fighting with Israeli forces, more than one million people have been displaced since early March, with Lebanese health authorities reporting 886 killed since March 2 . Israeli airstrikes have targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah’s main stronghold, leaving buildings ablaze and debris littering streets .
Iraq’s US embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone was targeted by rockets early Tuesday, forcing air defence systems into action .
International Reactions
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemned the assassinations as “truly illegal” . Russia declined to comment on reports that Mojtaba Khamenei had been flown to Moscow for medical treatment .
US President Donald Trump used the escalation to criticize NATO allies for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, posting on Truth Social that “because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance” .
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared that “the Strait of Hormuz situation won’t return to its pre-war status,” as the waterway through which one-fifth of global crude passes remains effectively closed .
Funeral and Succession
Larijani’s funeral, together with that of Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani, will be held Wednesday morning in central Tehran, according to Iran’s Fars and Tasnim news agencies . The Basij, a volunteer militia frequently deployed to suppress dissent, lost its commander of six years in the strikes .
With Larijani’s death, Iran’s leadership faces unprecedented decimation. The new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains out of sight, and a series of senior commanders and officials have been eliminated in targeted strikes since the war began on February 28. Iran’s health ministry reports at least 1,200 Iranians have died in US and Israeli strikes since the conflict’s outset .
The assassination of Ali Larijani—strategist, nuclear negotiator, security chief, and the man widely seen as holding Iran together through crisis—leaves the Islamic Republic searching for new leadership even as it fights a multi-front war with no end in sight.
SOURCES / INPUTS
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