Iran’s Supreme Leader Vows ‘Criminal Murderers’ Will Face Justice for Ali Larijani’s Assassination

TEHRAN: Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, stated in a written message that those responsible for the killing of security chief Ali Larijani “will have to answer for their actions.”

“Undoubtedly, the assassination of such a prominent figure reflects both his significance and the deep animosity the enemies of Islam hold toward him,” Khamenei wrote in a message shared on his official Telegram channel on the day of Larijani’s funeral in Tehran.

“Every drop of blood shed carries a cost, and the criminal perpetrators behind these martyrs will soon face justice,” he added.

It is important to note that Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani, along with Basij paramilitary commander Gholamreza Soleimani, were killed in airstrikes carried out by the United States and Israel on Tuesday.

The report of Larijani’s death came just hours after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that both Larijani and the head of Tehran’s Basij force had been “eliminated last night.”

“I have just received an update from the chief of staff that Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and the head of the Basij, Gholamreza Soleimani, were taken out last night,” Katz said in a statement released by his office.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council later verified Larijani’s death, stating: “The pure souls of the martyrs have joined the purified soul of God’s righteous servant, Dr Ali Larijani.” The council added that Larijani’s son and his bodyguards also died in the attack.

“After a lifetime dedicated to advancing Iran and the Islamic Revolution, he ultimately achieved his long-held aspiration, answered the divine call, and attained martyrdom while serving his nation,” the council said.

Larijani, 67, was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike while visiting his daughter in the eastern suburbs of Tehran, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency.

A post on Larijani’s X account read in Farsi: “O beloved people of Iran! … A servant of God has returned to his Lord as a martyr.” Earlier reports from Fars confirmed that Basij commander Soleimani was also killed in the strike.

“This cowardly attack highlights the crucial role of the Basij in the comprehensive struggle against the US and Israeli forces and their proxies, particularly during the recent conflict,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement, according to Al Jazeera.

The IRGC also warned that the assassination would not go unanswered. “We caution the evil and terrorist perpetrators of this high-ranking martyr that the Basij will never let the blood of the martyred leader, commanders, and members of the nation’s martyrs go unavenged,” the statement said. Instead, the deaths of Larijani and Soleimani will “strengthen the resolve of the heroic Iranian nation and all Basij fighters to continue the path of resistance,” the IRGC added.