Who is Ali Larijani, the Iranian official promising a ‘lesson’ to the US?
Al Jazeera
Ali Larijani is a longtime Iranian political insider, often viewed as a pragmatist, who has an important role following the killing of Supreme Leader Khamenei.
For decades, Ali Larijani was the calm, pragmatic face of the Iranian establishment – a man who wrote books on the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant and negotiated nuclear deals with the West.
But on March 1, the 67-year-old secretary of the Supreme National Security Council’s tone changed irrevocably.
Appearing on state television just 24 hours after US-Israeli air strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, Mohammad Pakpour, Larijani delivered a message of fire.
“America and the Zionist regime [Israel] have set the heart of the Iranian nation ablaze,” he wrote on social media. “We will burn their hearts. We will make the Zionist criminals and the shameless Americans regret their actions.”
“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,” he added.
Ali Larijani is a longtime Iranian political insider, often viewed as a pragmatist, who has an important role following the killing of Supreme Leader Khamenei.
Israel’s response to Hezbollah attack kills at least 31 people and leads to mass displacement in Lebanon.
Crossing closures following the Israel-US war with Iran lead to panic buying in Gaza, where residents fear food shortages.
The US president called for IRGC members to lay down their arms or face ‘certain death’. Here’s how he misunderstands the IRGC.
Iran’s supreme leader has been killed in a joint US-Israeli air strike.