Iran vows revenge for security chief Larijani's assassination

Iranian army chief Amir Hatami has warned of launching a "decisive and regrettable" retaliation for the assassination of security chief Ali Larijani in an Israeli air strike.

"Iran's response to the assassination of the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council will be decisive and regrettable," Hatami said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Revolutionary Guards, Iran's powerful military force that is separate from the army, said in a statement on Wednesday that it had launched missiles at central Israel "in revenge for the blood of martyr Dr Ali Larijani and his companions".

Iran's Supreme National Security Council earlier confirmed the assassination of Larijani, after Israel said it had killed him in an air strike, that also claimed lives of his son and bodyguards.

"The pure souls of the martyrs embraced the purified soul of God's righteous servant, Martyr Dr. Ali Larijani," the council said early on Wednesday, adding that his son and his bodyguards had died with him.

The announcement follows claims made by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz that Larijani and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani were killed in overnight Israeli air strikes.

In a statement released by his office, Katz claimed that Larijani and the Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani were killed in overnight strikes.

"I have just been updated by the Chief of Staff that Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and the head of the Basij — Iran's central repression apparatus — (Soleimani), were eliminated last night," Katz claimed in a statement released by his ministry.

Significant loss to Iran

Larijani was a prominent figure in Iranian politics and held a range of senior positions over the past four decades spanning state media, security institutions, and parliament.

Born on June 3, 1957, in Najaf, Iraq, Larijani completed his undergraduate studies in computer science at the Sharif University of Technology and obtained his master’s and doctoral degrees in philosophy from the University of Tehran.

He began his career in 1981 as head of the Central News Unit and joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1982. Between 1982 and 1983, he served as deputy minister for parliamentary affairs at the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, and briefly held deputy ministerial roles for legal and parliamentary affairs at the Post, Telegraph and Telephone Ministry.

From 1986 to 1989, Larijani served as deputy minister responsible for legal and parliamentary affairs at the Revolutionary Guards Ministry, before becoming deputy chief of staff of the Revolutionary Guards between 1989 and 1992.

Roles in media, nuclear file, legislative leadership

In the 1990s, he shifted toward cultural and media roles, serving as head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state media corporation, for nearly a decade.

He later moved into the security and strategic sphere, serving as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, where he oversaw the country’s nuclear file and participated in related negotiations.

Elected to parliament as a representative from Qom, Larijani served three consecutive terms as speaker of parliament from 2008 to 2020. In 2025, he was reappointed as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

He was also known for his academic work in philosophy.

___

Source: TRT