Who is Ali Larijani, target of Israeli attack in Iran

Ali Larijani REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, is considered one of the most influential figures in Iran since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is identified as a possible negotiator of a regime transition with the USA. However, this Tuesday (3), Israel announced that it had carried out air strikes against the Iranian presidential palace and the offices of the Supreme National Security Council in the capital Tehran. On Monday night (2), “Israeli aircraft attacked and destroyed facilities located within the leadership complex of the Iranian terrorist regime in the heart of Tehran,” the Israeli army said. “A large amount of ammunition was dropped on the presidential offices and the building of the Supreme National Security Council”, headed by Ali Larijani, the army added. There is no information about deaths and injuries. READ MORE: Iran’s ayatollah regime is still standing, but the next few days will determine its survival: understand the succession The impact of the war against Iran on the global economy will depend on the duration of the conflict, says IMF Larijani’s career lives up to his name, inherited from an important Iranian family. Minister, president of Parliament and candidate for president on several occasions, he occupies the strategic position of secretary of the Supreme National Security Council for the second time since last August. This key position puts him at the center of power at a time when the question of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s succession is being raised. However, there is no guarantee that he can actually exercise his authority. Azadeh Kian, professor emeritus of sociology at Paris-Cité University, speaks from a more complicated perspective. According to her, “it is not certain that their orders will actually be carried out, especially by the Revolutionary Guard, which is a State within a State.” Negotiating with the West Perhaps it is on the international stage that Ali Larijani can stand out. Doctor of philosophy and expert on Kant, he has already conducted negotiations with Western powers, who saw him as a pragmatic conservative. “If the Americans or the Israelis wanted to eliminate him, he would be eliminated like the others. But they want to keep someone with whom they can actually talk and negotiate”, argues Azadeh Kian. But this interpretation does not convince everyone. Mahnaz Shirali, a political scientist specializing in Iran, doesn’t believe in his chances, especially against Donald Trump. “Ali Larijani is a criminal against humanity, hated by Iranians. Even if the two men reached some kind of compromise between themselves, they would not be able to establish an authority based on the figure of Ali Larijani,” she said. Building of body that chooses Iran’s next supreme leader is destroyed According to the political scientist, Larijani would, at most, have the necessary political weight to negotiate an exit from the regime, but not to personify the future of Iranian power. With AFP

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