The killing of Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, will not deal a fatal blow to Iran’s leadership, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
Araghchi, in an Al Jazeera interview broadcast after Israel’s killing of Larijani on Tuesday, said the United States and Israel have yet to realize that Iran’s government does not rely on a single individual.
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“I don’t know why the Americans and Israelis still haven’t grasped this point: The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economic and social institutions,” Araghchi said in an interview.
Confirmation of Larijani’s death from Iran came hours after Israel earlier said it had killed him in a nighttime airstrike. Iranian Supreme National Security Councilwhich Larijani was driving acknowledged his death in a statement. Larijani, 67, was killed along with his son Morteza.
“The presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure,” Araghchi said.
Larijani was killed while visiting his daughter on the eastern edge of the Pardis neighborhood on the outskirts of Tehran, Reuters reported, citing the Fars news agency.
“Of course, individuals are influential and everyone plays a role – some better, some worse, some less – but the important thing is that the political system in Iran is a very solid structure.”
Iran on Wednesday promised a “decisive” retaliation for Larijani’s death, firing a barrage of rockets at Israel, which it said killed him in an air strike. A barrage of Iranian rockets killed two people near an Israeli mall, Tel Aviv, while the Gulf states intercepted missiles and drones aimed at targets including US bases in the region.
Iran will hold funerals
Iran will hold funerals on Wednesday for Larijani and another powerful figure killed by Israel on Tuesday, Gholamreza Soleimanihead of the Basij paramilitary force, according to Fars and Tasnim agencies.
Larijani was the most prominent Islamic Republic figure killed since Israel and the United States launched their attacks on Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparking a Middle East war.
“Iran’s reaction to the assassination of the minister Supreme National Security Council will be decisive and regrettable,” Iranian Army Chief Amir Hatami said in a statement.
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The United States dropped several 5,000-pound (2,250 kg) bombs — estimated to cost $288,000 each — on “fortified Iranian missile sites” near the coast that posed a threat to international shipping, Central Command said.
president of the usa Donald Trump angered earlier Tuesday that America’s allies, who have largely distanced themselves from his war, were not lining up for the United States to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
(With input from agencies)
