Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed revenge for the assassination of Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). His declaration came on 18/3 as Larijani's funeral was held in Tehran, following his death in an Israeli airstrike.

"Undoubtedly, such an assassination has proven his importance and the hatred of Islam's enemies for him," Khamenei wrote. He praised Larijani as "full of knowledge, vision, and wisdom," highlighting that nearly five decades of service in political, military, security, cultural, and administrative fields made him "an outstanding individual." Khamenei himself has not appeared publicly since being chosen to succeed his father, the late Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died on the first day of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.

The SNSC confirmed on 17/3 that Larijani had died, shortly after Israel claimed to have killed him in a night airstrike. His son, Morteza, along with assistants, some council staff, and bodyguards, also perished in the attack.

Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, in 10/2024. Photo: AFP

International condemnation followed the killings. Russia on the same day condemned actions "aimed at harming the health, and even killing, members of the leadership of the sovereign and independent Iranian nation, as well as other nations." Hezbollah, Iran's allied armed group in Lebanon, called Larijani's killing "cowardly."

Adding to the tensions, Israel on 18/3 announced it had killed Iran's intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib in an airstrike the previous night. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian later confirmed Khatib's death. Effie Defrin, spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, warned that the country's military would continue to hunt and eliminate senior Iranian officials.

By Nhu Tam (According to AFP, Anadolu Agency)