Strike kills Ali Larijani, believed to run Iran since war began

Wednesday March 18, 2026

Iran confirmed Tuesday that Ali Larijani — a senior security power broker and a pillar of conservative politics within the Islamic Republic — was killed in an Israeli strike. He was 67.

After U.S. and Israeli strikes late last month that killed Iran’s supreme leader and broadened the conflict, Larijani was widely viewed as the de facto manager of state affairs. Israel announced earlier Tuesday that it had killed Larijani; Tehran waited several hours before acknowledging his death.

He had been tapped by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to shape strategy for nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration and went to Oman to consult mediators two weeks before the war erupted. Like other senior Iranian officials, Larijani faced sweeping U.S. sanctions and was implicated in the violent suppression of mass protests in January.

Because he was not a Shiite cleric, he could not succeed Khamenei as supreme leader. Even so, he was expected to remain a key adviser, and with U.S. and Israeli strikes forcing Iran’s leadership underground, many believed he was effectively in charge. The Supreme National Security Council said his son, Morteza Larijani, was also killed.

One week earlier, after U.S. President Donald Trump warned he would strike Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if Tehran blocked oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, Larijani fired back on X.

“The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran,” he wrote. “Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.”

Larijani hailed from one of Iran’s most prominent political dynasties, often likened by media to the Kennedys in the United States. His brother Sadeq led Iran’s judiciary, while another brother, Mohammad Javad, was a senior diplomat who closely advised the late Khamenei on foreign affairs.

Over the decades, Larijani’s rhetoric grew increasingly hard-line. He served as culture minister in the 1990s, tightening state censorship; later, he was parliament speaker from 2008 to 2020 and, most recently, headed the Supreme National Security Council.

He authored at least six books on philosophy, including three studies of German thinker Immanuel Kant.