Iran has confirmed the death of Security Council head Ali Larijani. His son and his guards were killed along with him.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani was killed in an Israeli strike, Iranian authorities have confirmed. This was reported by the state agency Tasnim.

Larijani's funeral will take place today, March 18.

Along with the head of the Security Council, his son Morteza Larijani, the deputy head of his security service, Alireza Beyat, and a group of security guards were killed. As the Iranian opposition TV channel Iran International points out , Morteza was his father’s special assistant in the Security Council.

Iranian authorities also confirmed the death of the commander of the Basij volunteer paramilitary force, Gholamreza Soleimani.

The day before, on March 17, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the “de facto leader” of Iran, Ali Larijani, was killed in an airstrike. He also reported on the murder of Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani.

The media call Ali Larijani one of the most influential figures in Iranian politics. Previously, he was the representative of Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, on the Iranian National Security Council, responsible for negotiations on major national security issues, including the nuclear program.