Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, Larijani, has been eliminated, - IDF

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on 17 March that Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's National Security Council, had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

According to Censor.NET, "UP" reports this, citing media sources.

According to Channel 12, the assassination of Larijani was planned for Sunday night into Monday, but the attack was postponed at the last minute. On Monday afternoon, information came in that Larijani was due to arrive at one of his apartments, where he was in hiding. It is reported that he was there with his son.

Immediately after the strike, a source from the broadcaster’s security service stated: "There was no chance that he survived this attack".

The IDF also reported that Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the "Basij" volunteer paramilitary formation, was killed in a "precision strike" in Tehran.

Ali Larijani was a right-hand man of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war between the US and Israel against Iran, and was considered one of the leading figures of the regime after Khamenei's death, Times of Israel notes.

In August 2025, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Larijani secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and representative of Iran's supreme leader on the council. Iranian media also referred to him as an adviser to Khamenei.

Earlier, the US government had offered a reward of up to US$10 million for information on key Iranian leaders, including new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. The announcement said that the US government needed information on Mojtaba Khamenei, his deputy chief of staff Ali Asghar Hejazi, military adviser Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, adviser Ali Larijani, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and Intelligence and Security Minister Esmail Khatibi.

Strikes on Iran

On 28 February, Israel launched an operation to bomb the Iranian capital Tehran. This is a joint operation with the US armed forces.
Israel called the operation against Iran "Roaring Lion," and the US called it "Epic Fury."
US President Donald Trump said the goal of the operation against Iran was to "destroy Iran's missile industry and navy" and "ensure that Iran cannot destabilise the world."
Trump accused Iran of "financing and training" militants in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Hamas in Palestine.
The Israel Defence Forces reported that it had deployed more than 200 fighter jets to strike 500 targets in Iran.
On the evening of 28 February, a senior Israeli official told Reuters that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed that morning in an Israeli air strike on Iran. His body had already been found.
US President Donald Trump later confirmed the death of Ayatollah Khamenei.
On 3 March, sources at Iran International TV reported that the son of the slain Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba, had been chosen as Iran's next supreme leader.
Later, it became known that Iran's Assembly of Experts had not yet elected a new supreme leader.
Later, the Iranian state agency Fars reported that the Council of Experts had approved the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader by a majority vote.