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Ali Larijani, former secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was Israel's number one target after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28. For two weeks, Israeli intelligence launched a massive manhunt for the former security chief as he jumped between secret locations to stay alive, senior defense sources told The Jerusalem Post.
"Massive intelligence and operational resources were poured into locating him," senior Israeli defense sources told The Jerusalem Post.
"However, Larijani was not easy to locate. He is an experienced hand at avoiding detection and took a number of precautions to delay and avoid being located by Israel. For one, he was constantly moving to different secret locations throughout the last two weeks," the sources said.
The sources added that the extent of the precautions Larijani took over two weeks also shows how deeply hunted the surviving top Iranian leadership feels.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council confirmed Tuesday that Larijani was killed in an Israeli airstrike near Tehran overnight Monday, along with his son, his aide Reza Bayat and several companions.
The Israeli military described the strike as "precise" and said Larijani was "eliminated." The Israeli army described Larijani as "the de facto leader" of the Iranian regime. An Israeli official said he was attacked in a Tehran safe house.
The Israeli army also said Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran's Basij forces, was killed in a separate airstrike.
Larijani had appeared publicly the previous Friday during Quds Day rallies in Tehran, hours before his name was reportedly included on a U.S. list offering rewards of up to $10 million for information on 10 senior Iranian officials.
Larijani, born June 3, 1957, in Najaf, Iraq, was one of Iran's most prominent political figures, holding senior positions across state media, security institutions and parliament over more than four decades.
He completed his undergraduate studies in computer science at Sharif University of Technology and obtained master's and doctoral degrees in philosophy from the University of Tehran.
He began his career in 1981 as head of Iran's Central News Unit and joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1982.
He served in deputy ministerial roles at the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry and the Post, Telegraph and Telephone Ministry before moving into senior Revolutionary Guards positions, ultimately serving as deputy chief of staff of the Revolutionary Guards between 1989 and 1992.
In the 1990s, Larijani served as head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the state media corporation, for nearly a decade. He later became secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, where he oversaw Iran's nuclear file and participated in related negotiations. He was elected to parliament as a representative from Qom and served three consecutive terms as speaker of parliament from 2008 to 2020.
In 2025, he was reappointed as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
Larijani was generally associated with Iran's conservative principlist camp, though recent commentary suggested he had adopted a more moderate tone in recent years. He was also known for his academic work in philosophy.
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Israel and the U.S. have continued joint attacks on Iran since Feb. 28, killing around 1,300 people so far, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets.
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