What to Know About Ali Larijani, Iran’s Top Security Official
Posted on: Mar 17, 2026 16:15 IST | Posted by: Nytimes
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One of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s closest confidants, Mr. Larijani emerged as the face of the government after Mr. Khamenei was killed.
Farnaz Fassihi and Amelia Nierenberg
Ali Larijani, Iran’s top national security official and de facto leader, is the latest senior Iranian figure to be targeted since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran on Feb. 28.
Mr. Larijani, 67, who Israel’s defense minister said on Tuesday was believed killed in an overnight strike, has in effect been running the country behind the scenes. Since Feb. 28, when Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and a number of other senior officials, were killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, Mr. Larijani emerged as a defiant public voice of the Iranian government, regularly condemning the United States and Israel on social media.
There has been no official comment so far from Iran on Israel’s claim that Mr. Larijani was killed.
A trusted confidant of Ayatollah Khamenei, Mr. Larijani was among a group of officials whom the supreme leader tasked with devising a plan to ensure the Islamic Republic would survive if he were assassinated, according to senior Iranian officials and members of the royal guards.
The scion of an elite political and religious family, Mr. Larijani served for 12 years as the speaker of Parliament. In 2021, he was tasked with negotiating a 25-year comprehensive strategic deal with China that was worth billions and delivered an essential lifeline for an Iranian economy battered by Western economic sanctions.
Before the U.S.-Israeli assault began last month, Mr. Larijani’s portfolio grew. He was in charge of putting down recent protests that demanded the end of Islamic rule, deploying lethal force to crush the demonstrations. He kept a lid on dissent and was the key liaison with Iran’s allies including Russia, as well as regional actors like Qatar and Oman.
He also oversaw nuclear negotiations with Washington, and had devised plans for managing Iran during a potential war with the United States.
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