Larijani Accounts Post Handwritten Note After Israel Claims He Was Killed

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Social media accounts attributed to Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani published a handwritten note on Tuesday, shortly after Israel claimed it had killed him, raising questions about his status.

Iranian authorities have not confirmed Larijani’s death, and the message shared on his official accounts on X and Telegram did not address the Israeli claim.

Instead, the post focused on commemorating 84 Iranian sailors killed earlier this month when the frigate IRIS Dena was sunk in the Indian Ocean. The vessel was torpedoed on March 4 near the coast of Sri Lanka, in a move that marked an expansion of the conflict beyond the Middle East.

“The martyrdom of the brave men of the Navy of the Army of the Islamic Republic aboard the Dena is part of the sacrifices of the valiant nation that has emerged at this juncture of struggle against international oppressors,” the handwritten note read.

The message, written in black ink and undated, was presented as a tribute to the fallen mariners.

It added that their memory “will always remain in the heart of the Iranian nation” and that their deaths would “strengthen the foundations of the Army of the Islamic Republic for years.”

The sinking of the Dena and the deaths of its crew underscored the widening geographic scope of the conflict, which has increasingly spilled into strategic waterways, including the Indian Ocean.

Iran has been engaged in a broad confrontation with Israel and the United States since Feb. 28, when joint strikes by the two countries killed Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran confirmed Khamenei’s death hours after it was announced, triggering a wave of retaliatory actions that have since escalated into a region-wide war.

The emergence of a post on Larijani’s accounts without any clarification regarding his reported death adds to the uncertainty surrounding senior Iranian leadership amid the ongoing conflict.