On 17 March 2026, Ali Larijani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, was assassinated in Tehran as part of a series of Israeli airstrikes aimed at high-ranking Iranian officials. His death occurred as part of the 2026 Iran war, which began on 28 February with airstrikes on various Iranian targets by the United States and Israel. Larijani was the top target and most senior official to be killed after the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Having been appointed as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council by President Masoud Pezeshkian in August 2025, Ali Larijani was described by numerous newspapers as the most powerful man or de facto leader of Iran in the lead-up to the 2026 Iran war. Larijani presided over the crackdown on the 2025âÂÂ2026 Iranian protests and the subsequent massacres of Iranian protestors by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), often referred to as the mastermind of the massacres under orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
According to The New York Times, Larijani effectively ran Iran since January 2026 and was in "charge of crushing, with lethal force, the recent protests demanding the end of Islamic rule." As a result, the United States imposed new sanctions on Larijani on 15 January for repressing protestors. Following the assassination of Ali Khamenei on 28 February by Israel and the United States, Larijani said that the Iranian government will not "leave Trump alone."
According to senior defense sources, Larijani was experienced at avoiding detection and took several precautions to avoid being detected by Israel, such as by moving between several secret locations since the war began. Consequently, significant intelligence and operational resources were allocated into locating him.
On the night between 16âÂÂ17 March 2026, Larijani was the target of an Israeli airstrike. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Larijani was killed. Iran confirmed hours later that Larijani was killed in the attack. His son Morteza and the head of his office Alireza Bayat were also killed in the strike. Fars News Agency reported that he was killed by a U.S.-Israeli strike as he was visiting his daughter in the outskirts of eastern Tehran. Israeli intelligence officials on the other hand stated that they were able to track his movements after being tipped off by Tehran's residents and bombed him while he was meeting with other officials in a hideout in Tehran's outskirts. The commander of Iran's internal Basij militia, Gholamreza Soleimani, was also killed in a separate Israeli airstrike on the same night.
On 18 March 2026, Iran retaliated by launching a missile barrage at Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, killing two Israeli civilians. The IRGC said it launched missiles at central Israel "in revenge for the blood of martyr Dr Ali Larijani and his companions."
According to analysts, although the assassination of Larijani weakened the Islamic Republic, it would significantly hinder efforts to negotiate an end to the Iran war. Often described as a pragmatist, Larijani was a diplomatic figure central to shaping Iran's strategic decisions. Therefore, Larijani's sudden removal leaves the issues of the Iran war, the 2025âÂÂ2026 Iranian protests, and the Iranian nuclear program unresolved and transfers them to a successor facing a fragile situation. Remarks by President Pezeskhkian have indicated that the Iranian Armed Forces would have broad authority to act if the senior leadership was decapitated. According to Iranian conservative political analyst Hatef Salehi, Larijani's "absence at this critical and dangerous juncture will cast a deep shadow over diplomacy to end the war and decrease the chances of finding a low-cost political solution to end the war." Former Iranian MP Ali-Akbar Mousavi Khoeini said that "Larijani was viewed as a moderate politician, and he was expected to bring some level of change. In the end not only could he not deliver, but he became a victim himself."