Israel claims Iran’s security chief Larijani killed

Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has claimed that Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, was killed in Israeli strikes. Overnight strikes on Iran targeted Larijani and others, as per Israeli media reports.

It remains unclear, however, whether Larijani was killed or injured in the strikes, according to a report by Times of Israel, while there has so far been no official statement coming in from Iran.

The development comes a day after Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, issued a message to the Muslim countries, questioning their faith and loyalty in the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war.

“Iran was subjected to a treacherous American-Zionist aggression that occurred during negotiations and whose aim was to dismantle Iran. This aggression led to the martyrdom of the great and self-sacrificing leader of the Islamic Revolution and a number of civilians and military commanders,” he said on Monday.

If Larijani has indeed been killed, he would be the senior-most Iranian official to be killed after the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day of war.

A former nuclear negotiator, Larijani was a close ally of Khamenei, and regarded as one of Iran’s most influential political figures.