Will Larijani Killing Weaken Chance of US Exit Strategy for Iran War?

Israel’s killing of Ali Larijani, a veteran Iranian politician known for his pragmatism and long experience helming national security, leaves the Islamic Republic’s wartime leadership largely in the hands of hardliners who may be less likely to seek a diplomatic pathway out of the war.

Larijani was an insider of the Islamic Republic’s establishment for decades. He leveraged his ties to different factions and key figures, including late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to influence important decisions. He had emerged as the country’s most senior national-security official with a central role in the talks on Iran’s nuclear program, most recently shuttling between Gulf-Arab states and visiting Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the weeks before the current conflict started.