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Ali Larijani, believed to be running Iran since the beginning of the war, is killed in a strike

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ali Larijani, a top Iranian security official and a conservative force within Iran’s theocracy, was killed in an Israeli strike, Iranian authorities confirmed Tuesday. He was 67.

Larijani was widely believed to be running the country following the killing of its supreme leader in U.S. and Israeli strikes late last month that sparked a widening war. Israel said earlier Tuesday that it had killed Larijani, but it was several hours before Iran confirmed his death.

He had been appointed to advise Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration and traveled to Oman to meet with mediators just two weeks before the war began. Like other top Iranian leaders, Larijani was under heavy U.S. sanctions and implicated in the violent repression of mass protests in January.

He was ineligible to become supreme leader after Khamenei’s death because he is not a Shiite cleric. But he was widely expected to serve as a top adviser, and many believed he was running the country as U.S. and Israeli strikes have driven Iran’s leadership underground. The Supreme National Security Council said his son Morteza Larijani was also killed.

A week ago, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if Tehran stopped oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, Larijani responded on X.

“The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran,” he wrote. “Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.”

Larijani was born into one of Iran’s most famous political families, which many media outlets have compared to the Kennedys in the United States. One brother, Sadeq, served as the head of Iran’s judiciary, while another, Mohammad Javad, was a senior diplomat who closely advised the late Khamenei on foreign affairs.

Over the years, Larijani issued increasingly hard-line threats. In the 1990s, he served as Iran’s culture minister, tightening censorship. He served as parliament speaker from 2008 to 2020, and most recently as head of the Supreme National Security Council.

He wrote at least six philosophy books, including three exploring the works of German philosopher Immanuel Kant.

US bombs Iranian military sites, then downs missiles Tehran fired at troops in Kuwait

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States said Monday that it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran after Tehran shot down an American drone over the weekend. Iran then said it targeted American soldiers in Kuwait with missiles, which the U.S. says it shot down. The nominal ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. has been repeatedly tested with back-and-forth attacks, though officials from both countries are still trying to negotiate an end to the war. It’s not clear how close they are to a deal — and there is always the risk that an attack could derail those talks. Fighting has also been escalating between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, despite their nominal ceasefire, and that has increasingly threatened the emerging deal to extend the Iran war ceasefire. On Monday afternoon U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to dial back their fighting after he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with Hezbollah through mediators. Moments later, though, Israel said it had detected missile launches from Lebanon and warned Israelis in part of northern Israel to take cover in protected spaces.
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