Iranian state media on Tuesday confirmed the elimination of security chief Ali Larijani, arguably the most important figure in what remains of the regime.
Larijani was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday, along with Gholamreza Soleimani, the chief of Iran’s primary internal repression force, the Basij militia.
Larijani began his second stint as secretary of Iran’s powerful National Security Council in August 2025 and became one of the key players in violently suppressing the popular uprising in January, ordering thousands of killings to keep the regime in power. He was reportedly given extraordinary control over Iran’s military and repression apparatus by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was himself eliminated in the first hours of Operation Epic Fury.
Khamenei was nominally succeeded by his reclusive son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed supreme leader by a hastily organized “Assembly of Experts” under heavy pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The younger Khamenei has few qualifications for the job and might himself be incapacitated or dead from United States and Israeli airstrikes, so former IRGC officer Ali Larijani appeared to be at the top of Iran’s remaining chain of command.
Iranian state media initially denied Larijani was dead and seemingly tried to maintain the pretense of his survival by publishing one of his handwritten letters on Tuesday, but later admitted to his demise.
A post announcing that “a servant of Allah has joined his Lord as a martyr” was posted to Larijani’s account on social media platform X on Wednesday. His account has since been filled with tributes from prominent Iranians and Shiite clerical figures.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera News on Tuesday that Larijani’s death would not be a knockout blow for the regime in Tehran.
“I do not know why the Americans and the Israelis still have not understood this point: The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economic, and social institutions,” he insisted. “The presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure,”
“We have not had anyone more important than the leader himself, and even the leader was martyred, yet the system continued its work and immediately provided a replacement. If anyone else is martyred, it will be the same,” he claimed.
Firstpost on Wednesday reported three names have arisen as the top candidates to replace Larijani. One of them is Ali Larijani’s brother, former chief justice Sadeq Larijani. Another is former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. Either of those “hardline” candidates would ostensibly signal that the regime is “circling the wagons” and intends to keep fighting.
The third possibility, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is supposedly more “pragmatic” but still has the support of the IRGC, where he formerly served as a commander. If someone like Ghalibaf takes Larijani’s place, it could be a signal that the regime wants to negotiate a ceasefire that would ensure its survival.
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