Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, was reportedly killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes targeting Tehran, marking a major escalation in the ongoing war and a significant blow to the country’s leadership, according to Israeli officials.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes “eliminated” Larijani, who served as a key figure in Iran’s security and strategic decision-making apparatus, alongside Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij militia.
Iranian state media did not immediately confirm the deaths, but said a message from Larijani’s office would be released shortly, leaving uncertainty over the fate of one of Tehran’s most senior officials.
The reported killing comes as Israel intensified its military campaign against Iran, launching what it described as a “wide-scale wave of strikes” across the capital and other مناطق. The operations also extended to Lebanon, where Israeli forces increased strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah positions.
In response, Iran fired new salvos of missiles and drones targeting Israel and several Gulf countries, signaling its determination to continue retaliatory operations despite mounting losses among its leadership.
The escalation reached the Gulf, where incoming Iranian missiles toward the United Arab Emirates prompted Dubai to temporarily close its airspace, while debris from an intercepted missile killed one person in Abu Dhabi, according to initial reports.
Larijani’s reported death, if confirmed, would represent one of the most significant losses for Iran since the start of the war, which has already seen the killing of several senior figures, including top military and political leaders, in a series of targeted strikes.
The latest developments underscore the rapid intensification of the conflict, raising concerns about a broader regional war as attacks and counterattacks continue across multiple fronts in the Middle East.
