Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that Larijani, 67, died in the strike, while Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said earlier that he had been targeted and killed in an Israeli operation. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the circumstances of the attack.

Larijani, a prominent figure from a clerical family that rose to influence after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, held a series of senior roles across Iran’s political and security establishment.

A former commander in the Revolutionary Guard during the Iran-Iraq war, he later led the state broadcaster and served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

He was also speaker of parliament for 12 years, consolidating his position as a key intermediary between Iran’s political factions and the office of the supreme leader.

As one of Khamenei’s trusted lieutenants, Larijani played a central role in shaping Iran’s nuclear strategy, which sought to advance atomic capabilities while avoiding direct confrontation with Western powers. He was a frequent interlocutor in negotiations, presenting Iran’s position in public and diplomatic settings.

His portfolio extended beyond nuclear policy to include managing regional alliances and overseeing internal security responses during periods of unrest.

Despite being viewed by some analysts as relatively pragmatic compared to other hardline figures, Larijani was accused by Western officials of involvement in the suppression of anti-government protests earlier this year. The crackdown, which resulted in thousands of deaths, led Washington to impose sanctions on him last month.

Following the launch of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, Larijani publicly accused Iran’s adversaries of attempting to destabilize and weaken the country, while warning against domestic dissent.

His death comes amid intensifying military exchanges that have targeted senior Iranian figures, raising questions about the resilience of Tehran’s leadership structure and the future direction of its security and nuclear policies.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump confirmed that contacts with Iran were taking place but suggested negotiations had yet to reach a decisive stage. “Yes, we’re talking to them,” Trump said when asked whether diplomatic efforts were underway to end the conflict. “But I don’t think they’re ready

. But they are getting pretty close.”The war, which has rattled global markets and spread across parts of the Middle East, intensified after coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets on Feb. 28. The opening day of the campaign killed several senior Iranian officials, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Trump offered few details about the nature or level of the contacts, and suggested uncertainty about who currently represents Iran’s leadership after the initial strikes.“I’m not sure I want to make a deal, because first of all nobody even knows who you’re dealing with, because most of their leadership has been killed,” he said.

Iranian officials, however, rejected the notion that talks were underway.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was not engaged in negotiations with Washington and criticized the United States for pursuing diplomacy after launching military strikes.“We are stable and strong enough. We are only defending our people,” Araghchi said in an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” broadcast on Sunday.

“We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us,” he added. “There is no good experience talking with Americans.”Trump nonetheless maintained that Iranian authorities were seeking an agreement to end hostilities.

“They want to make a deal badly,” he said, without elaborating on possible terms or channels for future negotiations.

The conflicting statements highlight uncertainty over whether diplomatic efforts could emerge alongside the continuing military confrontation that has expanded across the region since late February.

The offer targets 10 officials associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a powerful military force created after the Iranian Revolution and tasked with safeguarding Iran’s clerical political system. The State Department said the individuals command or direct elements of the IRGC that it accuses of planning and executing attacks abroad.

Mojtaba Khamenei assumed Iran’s highest political and religious office after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed along with several senior Iranian officials in joint U.S. and Israeli strikes that began on Feb. 28.

The younger Khamenei is believed to have been wounded in the attacks and has not appeared publicly since the start of the conflict, though he issued his first statement on Thursday.

In addition to the supreme leader, the reward notice seeks information about Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and two officials from Khamenei’s office.

Larijani appeared on Friday in video footage verified by Reuters alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi during a rally in Tehran.

The appearance came despite comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggesting that Iran’s leadership was hiding underground amid ongoing military strikes.

The State Department website also lists four additional officials connected to the IRGC, including the corps’ commander and the secretary of Iran’s defense council, though their names and images were not provided.

Washington has designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization and accuses it of orchestrating attacks that have killed U.S. citizens. U.S. officials have also alleged that Iran planned assassination attempts against U.S. President Donald Trump and other American officials in retaliation for the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

Iran denies supporting terrorism and has repeatedly rejected U.S. accusations as politically motivated efforts to justify sanctions and pressure campaigns.Officials from the Revolutionary Guards were not immediately available for comment on Friday, Iran’s weekly day of rest.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Speaking to state television while marching among demonstrators supporting the Palestinian cause, Larijani said the attacks reflected fear rather than strength.

“These attacks are out of fear, out of desperation. One who is strong wouldn’t bomb demonstrations at all. It’s clear that it has failed,” Larijani said.

Larijani’s presence at the rally marked one of the highest-profile appearances by an Iranian official since a Feb. 28 strike that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with other senior officials, according to Iranian authorities.

Footage broadcast by Iranian state television showed large crowds gathering in Tehran for the annual Quds Day event, which is held each year to express support for Palestinians.

Also present at the rally was Ahmad-Reza Radan, Iran’s national police chief, according to images aired by state media.

Iranian media reported that a woman was killed after a U.S.-Israeli airstrike struck the vicinity of the demonstration on Friday.

The strike occurred near the location of the rally in the Iranian capital, although further details about the circumstances were not immediately available.

The demonstration took place amid ongoing hostilities involving Iran, Israel and the United States, with repeated air strikes and missile attacks reported across the region.

Public events such as the Quds Day march have historically been used by Iranian officials to express political positions on regional conflicts, particularly the Palestinian issue.

Mohammad Mohaddesin, head of foreign policy at the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said during a news conference in Paris that sustained airstrikes had weakened elements of Iran’s military and security apparatus but would not be sufficient to remove the ruling system.

“The 12-day war in June, and the current war, now in its 12th day, proved that bombings cannot overthrow the regime,” Mohaddesin said, adding that political change would require widespread public mobilization inside Iran.

Mohaddesin said that even a substantial deployment of foreign troops would be unlikely to achieve regime change without support from the Iranian population.

“You need a popular uprising,” he said, arguing that internal resistance combined with popular protest would be necessary to challenge the country’s leadership.

He added that he did not consider a deployment of U.S. ground troops a realistic scenario in the current conflict.

Nearly two weeks of fighting have killed around 2,000 people in Iran, including the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, according to figures cited in the conflict, while military strikes have damaged parts of Iran’s defence and security infrastructure.

Iran has responded with retaliatory actions that have widened tensions across the Middle East and disrupted global energy markets and transport routes. The country’s powerful security force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has tightened its control and warned it would suppress any unrest.

The NCRI, also known by its Farsi name Mujahideen-e-Khalq, was designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States until 2012 and remains banned in Iran. Analysts say its level of support inside the country is difficult to assess.

Along with monarchist groups supporting Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former shah, it is among the few opposition movements outside the country capable of organizing political gatherings and advocacy efforts.

Mohaddesin acknowledged that his organisation alone could not bring down Iran’s political system but said large-scale protests similar to demonstrations earlier this year could re-emerge once airstrikes cease and eventually shift the balance of power.

Israeli officials have said weakening Iran’s security structures is among the objectives of the campaign, arguing it could enable Iranians to determine their own political future.

Trump made the remarks while speaking to reporters during a press conference in Doral, Florida, where he was asked about Iran’s leadership transition after the death of the longtime cleric who had led the Islamic Republic for decades.

Trump said the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei was unlikely to bring meaningful change to Iran’s political direction.

“We think it’s going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country,” Trump said, referring to ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran.

His comments marked the first public reaction from the U.S. president since Iranian authorities confirmed Mojtaba Khamenei as the successor to his father.

During the exchange with reporters, Trump was asked whether the new Iranian leader might be considered a potential military target amid escalating hostilities in the region.

Trump declined to elaborate, saying it would be “inappropriate” to comment on whether Mojtaba Khamenei had a “target on his back.

”The remarks came as relations between the United States and Iran remain strained amid a widening regional conflict and heightened political tensions surrounding Iran’s leadership change.

In a statement posted in Farsi on social media platform X, the Israeli military said it would continue to target “every successor” to Khamenei. The statement also warned individuals involved in the process of appointing the Islamic Republic’s next supreme leader that they would be pursued.The warning came as Iran’s clerical body responsible for choosing the country’s top authority prepared to meet to decide who will replace Khamenei.succession process in focusIran’s supreme leader is selected by the Assembly of Experts, a clerical council tasked with appointing and supervising the country’s highest political and religious authority. The position carries sweeping influence over Iran’s armed forces, judiciary and key strategic decisions.The Israeli statement signals a direct attempt to pressure the succession process as uncertainty grows over Iran’s leadership structure following Khamenei’s reported death.mounting regional tensionsThe escalation reflects sharply rising tensions between Israel and Iran, whose rivalry has increasingly played out through military strikes, covert operations and regional confrontations.

Israeli officials have repeatedly said they will act against Iranian leadership, military infrastructure and networks they view as threats to Israel’s security.political uncertainty in TehranThe prospect of a leadership transition in Iran has heightened scrutiny of the country’s political institutions. The Assembly of Experts holds the constitutional authority to select a new supreme leader, a process that can shape the direction of Iran’s domestic governance and foreign policy.Israel’s latest warning suggests the confrontation could extend beyond military targets to the political mechanisms overseeing Iran’s leadership transition.

The dispute has exposed cracks within the Islamic Republic’s leadership following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a week ago, a development that has removed a central authority who for decades suppressed factional rivalries within the system.Sources close to Iran’s leadership, speaking from inside the country on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told Reuters that tensions among senior officials have intensified as the war escalates and key figures have been killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes.The conflict has placed unprecedented pressure on the country’s governing institutions, with military, political and clerical leaders struggling to coordinate responses while maintaining internal cohesion.Backlash over Pezeshkian remarks.The divisions became more visible after Pezeshkian said Iran would suspend attacks on neighbouring states unless strikes against Iran originated from their territory.The remarks were intended to reduce tensions with Gulf governments following Iranian attacks on facilities linked to U.S. forces in the region. However, they triggered a rapid backlash from hardline factions inside Iran who viewed the statement as a concession at a time of military confrontation.Officials close to the leadership said the controversy highlighted deeper disagreements within the ruling hierarchy over how to conduct the war and manage relations with regional states.While pragmatic figures have signalled an interest in reducing regional escalation, hardliners have argued for a more aggressive response to the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iranian targets.Revolutionary Guards expand influence

As the conflict intensifies, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are playing a growing role in shaping military and strategic decisions, according to people familiar with the leadership dynamics.The Guards, one of the most powerful institutions within the Islamic Republic, have moved to assert greater influence despite suffering heavy losses from targeted strikes that killed several senior commanders.The decapitation campaign against Iranian military leaders has added strain to the country’s command structure while reinforcing the Guards’ determination to maintain operational control.Sources said the combination of battlefield pressure and leadership losses has contributed to heightened tensions among the country’s remaining senior officials.Push to name new supreme leaderAmid the uncertainty, Iran’s clerical establishment is accelerating efforts to appoint a new supreme leader to replace Khamenei.According to sources familiar with the process, a decision on the succession could come as early as Sunday, although it remains unclear whether a new leader will command sufficient authority to contain factional disputes.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son, is widely seen as a leading candidate. He is believed to have backing from the Revolutionary Guards and influential figures within his father’s office.However, his potential elevation has faced resistance from moderates within the political establishment. Critics argue that he lacks the seniority of more experienced ayatollahs and remains largely untested in Iran’s complex political hierarchy.The debate over succession underscores the broader challenges confronting Iran’s leadership as it navigates a war that officials describe as an existential threat to the Islamic Republic.