The United States and Israel have eliminated Ali Larijani, Iran's top national security official, throwing Iran's leadership into severe turmoil. Larijani's death is seen as the most significant blow since the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On the 17th (local time), Israel Katz, Israel's Minister of National Defense, said in a statement that "Larijani was eliminated in an Israeli airstrike last night." The Israeli military also said it killed Gholamreza Soleimani, the overall commander of the Basij militia under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), along with Larijani, and struck more than 10 militia strongholds.
Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and a key confidant of Khamenei, had effectively overseen Iran's military response in the current Middle East war. Since Khamenei's death, he wielded greater influence than President Masoud Pezeshkian or the new supreme leader, Mojtaba, leading attacks targeting nearby Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where U.S. military bases are located.
At the same time, he handled internal control to suppress potential anti-government protests and social unrest in wartime, making him the "most powerful figure in Iran" who dominated both domestic and foreign policy.
Born in 1958 to a prominent clerical family, Larijani moved to Iran around age 3 with his father and grew up there. He earned a bachelor's in computer science from Sharif University of Technology and a master's and doctorate in Western philosophy from the University of Tehran. He began working as a journalist immediately after the Iranian Revolution that toppled the Pahlavi dynasty, and enlisted in the IRGC following the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War to build a military career.
Larijani was also seen as having strong political ambitions. In 2005, he ran for president but dropped out, and from 2008 to 2020 he served as speaker of parliament. However, after suspicions of ties with reformists emerged, he was disqualified from running in the 2021 and 2024 presidential elections. His influence was seen as restored after he became SNSC secretary following last year's "12-day war" between Iran and Israel.
Ali Vaez, an Iran expert at the International Crisis Group (ICG), said, "Larijani is someone aiming higher," adding, "He would want to ascend to the presidency in the future."
In the West, Larijani is classified as a "negotiable pragmatist." In particular, he played a central role in international talks over Iran's nuclear program, leading negotiations with the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Russia as chief nuclear negotiator from 2005 to 2007, and is credited with contributing to the Iran nuclear deal with the United States (JCPOA; Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Larijani was also known to have wielded behind-the-scenes influence in three rounds of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks since February this year.
Inside Iran, however, he was seen as the "architect of hardline rule." During the crackdown on anti-government protests sparked by the recent economic crisis, he led a bloody suppression in which tens of thousands of civilians were arrested or killed, and for this he was placed on the U.S. sanctions list.
His role was seen as decisive particularly in the wartime phase. During the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June last year, the Iranian military coordinated operations while communicating with Khamenei, who was sheltering in a bunker, and retaliated by firing hundreds of missiles at Israel. All of these military responses were known to have been carried out under Larijani's command.
Experts say Larijani's death will have a major impact on Iran's power structure and its ability to wage war. With the disappearance of the key coordinator who simultaneously controlled diplomatic negotiations, military strategy and internal control, a power vacuum and confusion in decision-making have become inevitable.
Sima Shine, a former officer with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, said, "There is a cumulative effect. Many figures have already been eliminated," adding, "The room for maneuver by the heads of Iran's key institutions could narrow, making national decision-making more difficult."
Hatef Salehi, an Iran-born political analyst, also said, "Larijani's absence at such a critical and dangerous time will cast a deep shadow over diplomacy and reduce the chances of finding a political solution for an end to the war."