SRINAGAR: Iran has confirmed the death of its national security chief Ali Larijani, hours after Israel claimed responsibility for killing him in an airstrike. The Iranian president also mourned his death and vowed retaliation.
“The pure souls of the martyrs embraced the purified soul of God’s righteous servant, Martyr Dr Ali Larijani,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement, as quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“After a lifetime of struggle for the advancement of Iran and of the Islamic Revolution, he ultimately attained his long-held aspiration, answered the divine call, and honourably achieved the sweet grace of martyrdom in the trench of service,” it added.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also condoled Larijani’s death and pledged to “avenge” his “blood”. In a statement quoted by The New York Times, Pezeshkian described the loss as “bitter and upsetting” and praised Larijani’s decades of service, adding that Iran would “continue the path of defiance and resistance”.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address, described Larijani as “the boss of the Revolutionary Guards, which is the gang of gangsters that actually runs Iran”. He also suggested that the Iranian people could eventually challenge their leadership, though he cautioned that such a development would not be immediate or easy.
Earlier, Israel had claimed that Larijani was killed in an airstrike. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Larijani and another senior figure, Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij force, were “eliminated last night”.
Funeral ceremonies for Larijani and Soleimani are expected to be held on Wednesday in central Tehran, according to reports by Fars and Tasnim news agencies, as quoted by AFP.
The Israeli military also said it carried out strikes on Basij positions around Tehran after earlier announcing the killing of the group’s top commander.
