18.03.2026 15:13
On the 19th day of the conflicts in the Middle East, as tensions rose, a large funeral ceremony was held in Tehran's Revolution Square for Ali Larijani, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the Commander of the Basij Forces, who lost their lives in the attacks by the US and Israel.
A ceremony was held in the capital Tehran for Ali Larijani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the Commander of the Basij Forces, who lost their lives in the attacks by the US and Israel on Iran.
TENS OF THOUSANDS ATTENDED
The funeral ceremony began at Revolution Square in Tehran, where a large turnout from the public was observed. The crowd filled the square for the deceased.
IRAN'S "RETALIATION" MESSAGE
Iran announced yesterday that Larijani and Soleimani were killed in Israeli attacks. Following this development, Iranian Chief of Staff Amir Hatami made strong statements, expressing that a "decisive" retaliation would be carried out.
WHO IS ALI LARIJANI?
Ali Larijani was born in 1958 in the city of Najaf, Iraq. He belonged to a religious and politically influential family from Amol, Iran. His father was the renowned religious scholar Mirza Hashim Amuli. Due to the pressures of the then Shah Reza Pahlavi, his family moved to Najaf in 1931 but returned to Iran in 1961. Larijani married Farideh Mutahhari, the daughter of the philosopher Ayatollah Morteza Mutahhari, one of the ideologues of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, at a young age.
Larijani completed his undergraduate studies in mathematics and computer science at Sharif University of Technology, one of the country's most prestigious universities, and then earned his doctorate in Western philosophy, particularly focusing on the German philosopher Immanuel Kant.
Other members of his family also became influential in Iranian politics. His brother, Sadeq Larijani, served for many years at the head of the judiciary, while Mohammad Javad Larijani took on significant roles in foreign policy and human rights. In this respect, the Larijani family has been influential in Iran's governance structure for many years.
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He later rose through the ranks of the state. He served as Minister of Culture and was then appointed as the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
In 2005, Larijani became the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and also served as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. He left this position in 2007.
Larijani entered the Iranian Parliament in 2008 and served as Speaker of the Parliament for three terms until 2020. During this time, he played a significant role in the parliamentary approval process of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the nuclear agreement, signed in 2015 between Iran and the permanent members of the United Nations and Germany.
In 2020, Larijani left the position of Speaker of the Parliament and was appointed as a leadership advisor by the then Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. After serving in this role for a while, Larijani's applications for candidacy in the presidential elections in 2021 and 2024 were not approved by the Guardian Council.
Ali Larijani was reappointed as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council in August 2025. With this appointment, Larijani became one of the key figures in Iran's foreign policy and security strategy once again, being regarded as one of the trusted statesmen of Ali Khamenei, who lost his life in the US-Israel attack.