--- description: Larijani was one of Iran’s most senior security officials and a close associate of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. title: Iran Confirms Israeli Strikes Killed Top Security Official Ali Larijani image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt226ed30bc8ee1450/69b94c4b6b1df2780675b636/GettyImages-183691791.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Iran](/tag/iran/) ## Iran Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Iran Confirms Israeli Strikes Killed Top Security Official Ali Larijani by [Callum Sutherland](/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Mar 17, 2026 1:00 PM CUT  Ali Larijani speaks to members of the press aside of an International Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly on Oct. 9, 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland. Ali Larijani speaks to members of the press aside of an International Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly on Oct. 9, 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland.Harold Cunningham—Getty Images by [Callum Sutherland](/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Mar 17, 2026 1:00 PM CUT Ali Larijani, ​​one of Iran’s most senior security officials and a close associate of the late Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei](https://time.com/7381859/ali-khamenei-obituary-supreme-leader-iran-dead-86/ "undefined"), was killed in Israeli strikes, state media announced in the early hours of Wednesday local time, confirming previous reports from the IDF. A social media profile belonging to Larijani has been [updated with a tribute](https://x.com/alilarijani%5Fir/status/2034010862692753518 "undefined") referring to him as a "martyr." “Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the regime’s effective leader, has been eliminated,” read a [statement](https://x.com/IDF/status/2033861461596930479?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet "undefined") from the IDF Tuesday morning. “Throughout the years, Larijani was considered one of the most veteran and senior figures within the Iranian regime leadership.” After Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in[ U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28](https://time.com/7381950/iran-war-khamenei-strikes-tehran/ "undefined"), Larijani “functioned” as the de facto leader of the Iranian regime, the IDF said. According to the statement, Larijani was the target of a “precise strike” while he was “located near Tehran.” IDF spokesperson [Avichay Adraee](https://x.com/AvichayAdraee/status/2033861454437245330 "undefined") described Larijani as “one of the oldest and most prominent figures at the top of the pyramid of the Iranian terrorism regime” and said his death “constitutes a further blow to the Iranian regime’s abilities to manage and coordinate hostile activity against the State of Israel.” The Israeli military also [reported](https://x.com/IDF/status/2033827283341824256?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet "undefined") the killing of Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Basij force—a plain-clothes militia unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. “Yesterday, the IDF targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past six years,” read a statement from the IDF. “Under Soleimani, the Basij unit led the main repression operations in Iran, employing severe violence, widespread arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators.”  Gholamreza Soleimani attends a gathering during Basij Week in the Iranian capital Tehran on Nov. 24, 2019. Atta Kenare—Getty Images **Read More**: [_Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s New Supreme Leader, Has Wielded Power Behind the Scenes For Years_](https://time.com/7383138/mojtaba-khamenei-supreme-leader-iran/ "undefined") Larijani was a vocal critic of the U.S. and, on March 10, issued a [veiled threat](https://time.com/article/2026/03/10/iran-trump-Larijani-hormuz/ "undefined") against President Donald Trump. "Iran doesn't fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn't eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself,” he [said](https://x.com/alilarijani%5Fir/status/2031324064199962900 "undefined") via social media. His remarks came after [Trump threatened to hit Iran “twenty times harder”](https://time.com/article/2026/03/10/trump-threatens-iran-death-fire-fury-oil-blockage-strait-of-hormuz/ "undefined") than it already has, should it continue to disrupt the flow of oil tankers via the [Strait of Hormuz](https://time.com/7382242/strait-of-hormuz-closure-threat-iran-war-trade-gas-oil-prices/ "undefined"). The last public sighting of Larijani was reportedly on Friday, when he [attended](https://t.me/farsna/419263 "undefined") an “Al Quds Day” march in Tehran. In the midst of the initial reports of his killing, an image of what appeared to be a handwritten [note](https://x.com/alilarijani%5Fir/status/2033840853370683829 "undefined") was posted on Larijani’s X account Tuesday morning. It was a statement made in honor of the Iranian sailors who were killed in a U.S. torpedo strike. It remains unclear when the statement was written or if it was penned by Larijani himself. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/israel-reports-killing-iranian-security-official-ali-larijani-gholamreza-soleimani/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/israel-reports-killing-iranian-security-official-ali-larijani-gholamreza-soleimani/"},"headline":"Iran Confirms Israeli Strikes Killed Top Security Official Ali Larijani","datePublished":"2026-03-17T13:00:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-18T17:50:13.551Z","description":"Larijani was one of Iran’s most senior security officials and a close associate of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/israel-reports-killing-iranian-security-official-ali-larijani-gholamreza-soleimani/","keywords":["Iran","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt226ed30bc8ee1450/69b94c4b6b1df2780675b636/GettyImages-183691791.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Callum Sutherland","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt226ed30bc8ee1450/69b94c4b6b1df2780675b636/GettyImages-183691791.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-183691791.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Harold Cunningham—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iran/","name":"Iran"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/israel-reports-killing-iranian-security-official-ali-larijani-gholamreza-soleimani/","name":"Iran Confirms Israeli Strikes Killed Top Security Official Ali Larijani"}}]}] ```