Iran war: Larijani dead, supreme leader demands US and Israel brought to their knees

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, that its secretary, Ali Larijani, had been killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes, marking the most senior Iranian leadership loss since the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February 2026, the opening day of the United States-Israeli war on Iran. The confirmation came via a statement carried by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, which described Larijani as having attained the rank of martyrdom. The Supreme National Security Council statement also confirmed that Larijani’s son, Morteza Larijani, the head of his office, Alireza Bayat, and several members of his security detail were killed in the same strike.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the deaths earlier in the day at a news briefing, crediting air force pilots, ground crews, intelligence personnel, and what he described as American partners in carrying out the operation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a televised statement that he had ordered the targeting of senior Iranian officials, framing the operation as intended to provide Iranians with an opportunity to challenge the existing governing structure, while acknowledging that any such transformation would not happen all at once. Defence Minister Katz added that Israel’s military was continuing to strike missile capabilities and strategic infrastructure across Iran.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps separately confirmed the killing of Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s internal Basij paramilitary force, in a statement posted through the semi-official Fars News agency. The Basij is a mass mobilisation militia that has served in recent decades primarily as an instrument of internal political control. Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani commanded the force through successive protest suppression campaigns, including the 2019 and 2022 to 2023 waves of unrest that resulted in thousands of civilian deaths.

Who was Ali Larijani and why his death is significant for Iran’s wartime governance structure

Ali Larijani, who was 67, had served as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and was widely regarded as the Islamic Republic’s de facto leader following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the conflict. He came from one of Iran’s most prominent clerical families, with brothers who had headed the judiciary and the country’s human rights mechanisms. This lineage gave him a level of institutional credibility within the theocratic system that few other surviving officials could match.

Over a career spanning four decades, Larijani served as head of Iran’s state broadcasting organisation, as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator in talks with European powers, and as speaker of the Iranian parliament for more than a decade. He returned to the core of the regime’s power structure as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, a body that coordinates military, intelligence, and political strategy at the highest level. In the months before the current conflict, he had operated at the centre of Iran’s day-to-day wartime strategy, effectively directing the country’s response to mounting military and diplomatic pressure.

Despite a publicly hard-line posture since the outbreak of hostilities, Larijani was consistently regarded by analysts and foreign governments as one of the few senior Iranian officials both willing and capable of accepting a negotiated outcome. He had supported the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear agreement with world powers and, in the weeks before the launch of Operation Epic Fury on 28 February, had engaged in indirect diplomatic contacts with the United States through Omani mediation channels. In an interview before the war began, Larijani described Iran’s position on talks as positive and stated that resorting to negotiation is a rational path. His death eliminates one of the very few figures within the Iranian system who combined institutional authority with a documented record of pragmatic engagement.

Larijani was last seen publicly on 13 March, attending the annual Al-Quds Day parade in Tehran alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iran’s new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei rejects ceasefire proposals in first foreign policy session

On the same day that the death of Ali Larijani was confirmed, a senior Iranian official disclosed that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had held his first foreign policy session since being named to the position by the Assembly of Experts following his father’s death. In that session, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei rejected de-escalation proposals that two unidentified intermediary countries had conveyed to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, which sought a reduction of tensions or a ceasefire with the United States. The senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the supreme leader’s position as very tough and serious.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei stated that it was not the right time for peace until the United States and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat, and pay compensation. The identities of the two intermediary countries were not disclosed, nor were details of the specific proposals they presented. Whether the supreme leader attended the session in person or remotely was not clarified by the official.

This position is consistent with the public posture Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei adopted in his first public message, delivered via state television, in which he declared that the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a pressure instrument against what he described as Iran’s enemies. The supreme leader holds final authority over all matters of state in the Islamic Republic under the country’s constitution.

No new images of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had been released since his selection over a week earlier by the Assembly of Experts. Iranian officials stated he sustained light injuries in the strikes that killed his father. United States officials indicated his injuries were more severe.

Separately, three sources told Reuters on 14 March that the Trump administration had rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to initiate diplomatic negotiations to end the conflict. The combined rejection of third-party mediation by both Washington and Tehran has effectively closed the near-term diplomatic space for resolution.

The state of the United States-Israeli war on Iran as the conflict enters its third week on 17 March 2026

The United States-Israeli war on Iran entered its eighteenth day on 17 March with at least 2,000 people confirmed dead across Iran, Lebanon, and the broader Gulf region, and no end to active hostilities in sight. The conflict began on 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes across Iran under Operation Epic Fury, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and numerous other senior Iranian officials in the opening hours. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks against Israel, United States military installations across the Gulf, and targets in several neighbouring countries.

Israel’s military confirmed it had carried out approximately 7,600 strikes in Iran and approximately 1,100 in Lebanon since the start of operations on 28 February. On 17 March, Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, with Defence Minister Katz stating the operation could result in indefinite Israeli occupation of portions of Lebanese territory.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil trade normally passes, remained at a near-standstill. Tanker traffic dropped by approximately 70 percent following Iranian restrictions and attacks, with more than 150 vessels anchoring outside the strait to avoid risks. Major container shipping companies including Maersk, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd suspended transits. Houthi-controlled Yemen resumed attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, forcing Suez Canal-bound traffic to reroute around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Brent crude oil prices rose sharply in response to the supply disruption.

President Donald Trump demanded that allied nations send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. European Union member states, Japan, and Australia declined. Germany stated the conflict had no relevance to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation obligations. On 16 March, Trump publicly rebuked North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies, calling their refusal a very foolish mistake.

An explosion at the United States Embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq, on 17 March was attributed to an Iran-aligned militia group employing a combination of drones and rockets. The United States National Counterterrorism Center Director, Joe Kent, a retired Special Forces officer, resigned on 17 March, stating in his departure letter that the war was launched under pressure from Israel. President Trump responded by calling Kent weak on security.

Key takeaways on what the killing of Ali Larijani and Iran’s rejection of de-escalation mean for the conflict and regional stability

• Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed that Ali Larijani, its secretary and the Islamic Republic’s de facto wartime leader since the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February, was killed in overnight Israeli strikes, alongside his son Morteza Larijani and other senior aides. Larijani was the most senior Iranian official killed since the start of the war.
• The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed the simultaneous killing of Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij paramilitary force, in separate Israeli strikes on 17 March, removing two of the Islamic Republic’s most powerful internal security figures in a single operational sequence.
• Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, rejected de-escalation and ceasefire proposals conveyed by two unidentified intermediary countries in his first foreign policy session, demanding that the United States and Israel first accept defeat and pay compensation before any peace negotiations could proceed.
• The Trump administration separately rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to initiate diplomatic negotiations, leaving no active mediation channel between the two sides.
• The conflict was in its third week with at least 2,000 confirmed dead across the region, the Strait of Hormuz remaining largely closed, and no diplomatic off-ramp in view as both the United States and Iran rejected parallel third-party mediation efforts.