Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian official who recently issued a strong warning to former U.S. president Donald Trump, has reportedly been killed in an airstrike attributed to Israel.
According to Iran’s Defence Ministry, Larijani — who served as secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council — died in an Israeli strike carried out late on March 16.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that Larijani was among the targets of the operation. The military also said another strike during the same operation killed the leader of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force.
Just days before his reported death, Larijani had issued a warning directed at Trump during remarks about tensions involving Iran.
“The nation of Iran is not afraid of your empty threats,” he said at the time. “Even those bigger than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Watch yourselves, or you might be eliminated.”
Larijani was considered a key figure within Iran’s political establishment and was reportedly involved in discussions linked to the interim leadership council tasked with guiding the country during deliberations over a successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Also reportedly killed in a separate strike was Gholam Reza Soleimani, commander of the Basij militia, a volunteer paramilitary group affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Reports indicate that Soleimani died on Monday, although Iranian authorities did not immediately confirm the death of the militia leader.
In a statement, the Israeli military described the Basij as part of what it called the Iranian regime’s security apparatus.
It alleged that forces under Soleimani’s command had played a central role in suppressing protests in Iran, particularly during periods of widespread demonstrations, through mass arrests and the use of force against protesters.
Soleimani, who was born in 1965 according to records from the U.S. Treasury Department, had been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and several other countries over allegations related to his role in suppressing dissent through the Basij militia.
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