- Iran has officially confirmed the death of its top security chief, Ali Larijani.
- His demise marks the killing of the most senior Iranian official by Israel since the assassination of supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the outset of the conflict.
- Tehran had previously dismissed reports of Larijani's death, even releasing a handwritten letter to Iranian troops after Israel asserted he had been killed in an IDF strike.
- It follows the death of Basij force head Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, which was confirmed earlier on Tuesday.
- Both men were key to Iran’s violent crackdown on protests in January that challenged the theocracy’s 47-year rule. The killings would strip Iran of important leaders during a war that presents that greatest test for the Islamic Republic in recent decades.
