The killing of Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, will not deal a fatal blow to Iran’s leadership, the country’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has said.
Araghchi, in an interview with Al Jazeera aired after the killing of Larijani by Israel on Tuesday, said the United States and Israel had yet to realise that Iran’s government does not rely on a single individual.
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“I do not know why the Americans and the Israelis still have not understood this point: The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economic, and social institutions,” Araghchi said in the interview.
The confirmation of Larijani's death from Iran came hours after Israel announced earlier that it had killed him in an overnight airstrike. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which Larijani helmed, acknowledged his death in a statement. Larijani, 67, was killed alongside 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 in the eastern outskirts of Pardis district, a Tehran suburb, Reuters reported, citing Fars news agency.
“Of course, individuals are influential, and each person plays their role – some better, some worse, some less – but what matters is that the political system in Iran is a very solid structure.”
Iran on Wednesday vowed a "decisive" retaliation for the death of Larijani, firing off a wave of missiles at Israel, which said it killed him in an air strike. A barrage of Iranian missiles killed two people near Israel's commercial hub, Tel Aviv, while Gulf nations intercepted rockets and drones headed for targets including US bases in the region.
Iran will hold funerals Iran will hold funerals on Wednesday for Larijani and another powerful figure killed Tuesday by Israel, Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij paramilitary force, according to the Fars and Tasnim news agencies.
Larijani was the most prominent figure of the Islamic Republic killed since Israel and the United States launched their attacks on Iran on 28 February, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and igniting a war in the Middle East.
"Iran's response to the assassination of the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council will be decisive and regrettable," Iranian army chief Amir Hatami said in a statement.
The United States dropped several 5,000-pound (2,250 kg) bombs - estimated to cost $288,000 each - on "hardened Iranian missile sites" near the coast that posed a threat to international shipping, Central Command said.
US President Donald Trump earlier Tuesday fumed that American allies, which have largely distanced themselves from his war, were not lining up behind the United States to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.