Iran confirms security chief Ali Larijani martyred in Israeli strike

TEHRAN (Agencies) - Iran state media has confirmed that security chief Ali Larijani has been martyred in an Israeli strike on Tuesday.

In a statement carried by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news, the country’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed the assassination of Larijani, after Israel earlier today claimed it killed him in targeted attacks.

“After a lifetime of striving for the elevation of Iran and the Islamic Revolution, he finally reached his long-cherished wish, answered the call of truth, and proudly attained the blessed rank of martyrdom in the service front”, a statement from the council carried by Mehr reads.

Earlier, Israel has claimed it has killed Ali Larijani, Iran’s powerful national security chief, in a strike on Tehran, as fresh bombardments hit cities across the Middle East following weeks of escalating conflict.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that Larijani was “eliminated last night”, though Iranian authorities have yet to confirm his death.

Following reports of his killing, Larijani's official Telegram account said that he would be releasing a statement shortly.

A short time later, the account published a handwritten note written for the funeral of Iranian naval casualties. The account, however, did neither refer to the reports of Larijani's alleged assassination nor did it provide proof that he is alive.

Israel's announcement came a day after a separate strike reportedly killed Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Basij force.

Meanwhile, Israel’s president expressed gratitude for France’s offer of mediation in Lebanon to halt the fighting but insisted that Europe should take a harder line against Hezbollah.

The Iranian‑backed group has been engaged in heavy battles with Israeli troops having launched ground operations in the south of the country.

“The priority now is to dismantle Hezbollah’s war machine,” President Isaac Herzog told French press agency AFP, urging European capitals to “act, not just appeal for calm”.

SHOCK FOR TEHRAN

The reported assassination of Larijani marks another shock to Iran’s leadership after the joint US‑Israeli strikes on 28 February that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

His son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen publicly, prompting speculation about his condition. Russian Presidential press secretary Dmitri Peskov, quoted by the official Russian Tass agency, said Moscow would “not comment” on a report in a Kuwaiti newspaper that he had been flown to Moscow for medical treatment.

Explosions shook Tehran overnight as Israel said it hit “Iranian terror infrastructure” in the capital and elsewhere.

In Lebanon, dawn air strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah’s main stronghold, reportedly leaving buildings ablaze and debris littering the streets.

Authorities in Lebanon say more than one million people have been displaced since early March, with many now sheltering in makeshift centres.

Western allies – including France, Germany and Britain – have urged Israel to limit its operations, warning of regional collapse.

OIL SHOCK

Iran has retaliated with attacks on US interests and Gulf infrastructure, including tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting a fifth of global oil traffic and driving prices higher.

The United States has called on its partners to join a naval coalition to secure the waterway, but enthusiasm has been muted.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was working “with allies on a viable plan” to reopen the strait while rejecting a NATO‑led mission. Germany echoed that view, warning that the alliance should not be drawn into Washington’s war.

Meanwhile, Iran’s health ministry says at least 1,200 Iranians have died in US and Israeli strikes since the start of the conflict.

In neighbouring Iraq, rockets targeted the US embassy early Tuesday, forcing air defences into action over Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone.