Larijani ‘Killed’ in Israeli Strike? Iran Denies as Claims Trigger Tensions

Israel has claimed that senior Iranian leader Ali Larijani was killed in a targeted airstrike in Tehran, but Iran has denied the claim, creating confusion over his fate.

Israel’s Defence Ministry said Larijani—considered a close aide to Ali Khamenei—was eliminated in an overnight strike based on precise intelligence inputs. However, Iranian authorities have pushed back, rejecting reports of his death and offering no confirmation of any such casualty.

In a separate statement, Israel also claimed it killed Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Basij force, in another airstrike in Tehran. The Israeli Air Force described the operation as a “targeted strike” aimed at senior military leadership.

The conflicting narratives come as the Iran-Israel conflict enters its third week, with tensions continuing to escalate and fears of a broader regional fallout growing. Just a day before the reported strike, Larijani had issued a message addressing Muslim nations, criticising what he called a lack of support for Iran amid the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Israel.

In his statement, he accused Washington and Tel Aviv of carrying out aggression against Iran and urged Islamic countries to take a stronger stand in support of Tehran. With no independent confirmation and sharply differing claims from both sides, the situation remains unclear, underscoring the fog of war surrounding the ongoing conflict.