“He received the sweet grace of martyrdom.” Iran officially confirms the death of Ali Larijani

Iran's Supreme National Security Council confirmed on Tuesday evening the death of its head, Ali Larijani, a pillar of Iranian power, whom Israel had previously announced had killed him, AFP reports.

Ali Larijani “received the sweet grace of martyrdom,” the Council said in a statement, adding that another of its officials, as well as Ali Larijani's son and several bodyguards, were also killed “at dawn,” according to Agerpres.

The funerals of Ali Larijani, as well as General Gholamreza Soleimani, who headed the Basij paramilitary organization, also killed by Israel on Tuesday morning, will be held on Wednesday starting at 10:30 GMT in central Tehran, along with funeral ceremonies for servicemen from the frigate sunk by the United States on March 4 off the coast of the island state of Sri Lanka, the Fars and Tasnim news agencies said.

Fars stated that Ali Larijani was targeted by “US and Israeli warplanes in his daughter's house”.

Despite this “bitter (…) loss, the perseverance of the people (…) and the conquest of the final victory will make the situation even more bitter for the Zionist criminals”, reacted Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian.

The risk of killing Larijani

The regime in Tehran could become even more intransigent following the death of the head of Iranian security, Ali Larijani, an expert told CNN on Tuesday.

Sina Azodi, director of the Middle East Studies program at George Washington University, said that “Larijani's death will lead to an even greater tightening of the regime.”

Larijani was Iran's top security official and one of the country's most powerful decision-makers.

The Middle East expert specified that Larijani maintained relations with the entire political and military class of Iran.

“He had close ties with everyone – the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guards, no), moderate personalities – and used that not only to influence military operations, but also to signal Iran's intentions to the outside world,” added Sina Azodi.

Azodi warned that Larijani's removal risks opening the way for a “more radical personality”, which would “create more difficulties in establishing ways out to end the war”.