Ali Larijani, a veteran Iranian politician, architect of the Islamic Republic's security policy, and a close adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed at the age of 67. Iranian media reported his death on Tuesday, while Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, stated that he had been killed in an Israeli strike last month. Larijani was last publicly seen at a Quds Day march in Tehran on Friday, though Iran has not officially confirmed his death or injury.

Born in 1958 in Najaf, Iraq, a significant Shi'ite Muslim shrine city, Larijani hailed from a prominent clerical family. His father had fled the oppressive rule of the Shah, and Larijani moved to Iran as a child, later earning a PhD in philosophy. The revolutionary religious currents of the 1970s deeply influenced him. At 20, he witnessed the Islamic Revolution overthrow the Shah and install Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. During the Iran-Iraq war, Larijani joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, an ideologically driven military unit, rising to become a staff officer and commander focused on logistical and organizational duties behind the front lines. This success, combined with his family's connections, propelled his ascent in the new Islamic Republic and forged close ties with the Guards, an institution whose influence grew throughout his career.

After the war, Larijani served as culture minister and then headed Iran's state broadcaster, IRIB, a critical position for disseminating ideological messaging. He was appointed to the cabinet by President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and gained an unparalleled understanding of high Iranian politics during the years-long power struggle between Rafsanjani and Khamenei, who became Supreme Leader in 1989. Following his time at IRIB, Larijani led the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Iran's premier foreign and security policy body. After a failed presidential bid in 2005, he was elected to parliament in 2007, serving as speaker for 12 years. His brothers, Mohammad-Javad and Sadiq, also achieved high office, with the former becoming a senior adviser to Khamenei and the latter heading the judiciary.

From 2005 to 2007, Larijani served as chief nuclear negotiator, defending Tehran's right to enrich uranium, a process crucial for nuclear power but also for warheads. Following the discovery of undisclosed enrichment facilities in 2003, international pressure and sanctions mounted amid fears Iran sought a bomb, a claim Tehran consistently denied. Larijani famously likened European incentives to abandon nuclear fuel production to