The Media Line: Top Iranian Regime Official Ali Larijani Killed in IDF Strike 

Top Iranian Regime Official Ali Larijani Killed in IDF Strike 

By The Media Line Staff 

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday confirmed that a chief Iranian official, Ali Larijani, was killed in strikes in a development that could disrupt Iran’s leadership structure. 

Along with Larijani, Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani was killed together with his deputy, Karishi. 

For several hours, the status of Larijani remained unclear, with the confirmation of his death arriving on Tuesday afternoon. 

Larijani played a central role in Iran’s leadership, particularly following the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed as leader, has been absent and is rumored to have been seriously injured in an Israeli strike. 

On March 1, Larijani announced that he would head an interim committee tasked with governing Iran, though the extent of his authority remained uncertain. In recent weeks, he served as a prominent public figure for Tehran, frequently responding to statements by US President Donald Trump during the conflict. 

Larijani previously held several senior positions, including as commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, speaker of parliament, and chief of the National Security Council. Despite being disqualified from running for president in 2021 to pave the way for Ebrahim Raisi’s election and falling out of favor for a period, he has since regained influence. 

His standing grew following the assassination of Khamenei and the elimination of other senior Iranian officials during the current conflict and a previous round of fighting in the summer of 2025. He was widely viewed as second in command while Khamenei was alive and played a key role in overseeing Iran’s security affairs and nuclear negotiations with the United States. 

If Larijani was effectively leading Iran in recent weeks, his removal or incapacitation has significant implications for the future of the Iranian regime.