Iran has confirmed the death of Ali Larijani, one of Tehran’s most prominent figures in the ongoing war against the US and Israel and close confidant of slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba, Iranian media said on Tuesday.
The confirmation comes hours after Israel said it eliminated two of the top Iranian security official, including Larijani, in an Israeli strike aimed at weakening the Iranian leadership amid the ongoing conflict, in its third week.
The Iranian confirmation followed fresh salvos of missiles and drones at Gulf neighbors and Israel.
Larijani, 67, was considered one of the most powerful figures in Iran since Khamenei’s death. He was seen a key figure in the Tehran’s battle for survival and the right-hand man of Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli attack on February 28.
Ever since Khameini’s death, Larijani played a far more visible role than the new supreme leader, Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since he replaced his slain father.
A Revolutionary Guards commander during the Iran-Iraq war, Larijani was seen as canny and pragmatic, a fiercely determined leader that upheld the country’s theocratic government.