Israel has beheaded the snake, again. In a strike unprecedented since three weeks ago, Israel eliminated senior regime figures, the head of the paramilitary Basij forces, his deputy, and most prominently, Ali Larijani—Iran’s most senior military official.
Since August 2025, Larijani had headed the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s highest security body. Israel promoted him again last month, eliminating most of his superiors and leaving him as the highest-ranking security official still standing. Since that day, he had been viewed as one of, if not the most powerful man in the regime.
As head of the SNSC, he sat at the center of Iran’s war effort. After Israel beheaded the regime’s leadership, he was one of the few remaining figures capable of convening the emergency council—one he may not have participated in directly, but over which he almost certainly wielded significant influence. He was also likely among the shadowy IRGC commanders standing behind the maimed Mojtaba Khamenei, pulling the strings of the new supreme leader.
Larijani unwisely tempted Israel. On Friday, he appeared publicly in Tehran alongside the president and other senior officials at the Al-Quds Day march. Surrounded by civilians, he felt comfortable enough to mock Israel and the U.S. strikes on Tehran as signs of their “desperation.” The appearance was almost certainly choreographed by the IRGC to project continuity and resolve in a moment of pressure and collapse. Unfortunately for the IRGC’s PR team, they underestimated Israel.
Though I’m sure the New York Times will mourn the loss of another moderate, allow me to explain who this man actually was.
Like many in the IRGC, Larijani quietly embraced the luxuries of the West. Until last month, his daughter, Fatemeh Larijani, was an assistant professor at a university in Atlanta. His nephew Hadi is a professor at Glasgow Caledonian University’s technology center in the UK. Hadi’s brother Sina is a director at the Royal Bank of Canada in Vancouver.
While his family enjoyed the fruits of his corruption, Larijani was massacring Iranians for daring to want the same. His name is closely tied to the suppression of both the 2009 and 2026 protests. According to U.S. intelligence, he was a key architect of the crackdown that killed upwards of 30,000 protesters—greatly assisted by the other officials eliminated last night, such as Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij, and his deputy.
With all the blood on his hands, I think I will quote Iranian-Australian broadcaster Rita Panahi’s statement after Ali Khamenei’s assassination.
Panahi’s remarks were delivered in Persian, but roughly translated, I would like to say to Larijani, “Your father is a dog, dirt be on your head and burn in hell.”
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