Iran confirmed the death of its national security chief Ali Larijani on Tuesday, hours after Israel claimed responsibility for killing him in an airstrike. Iran’s president also expressed condolences over the death, vowing revenge.“The holy souls of the martyrs embrace the pure soul of the righteous servant of God, martyr Dr. Ali Larijani,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement, quoted by AFP.It said, “After struggling all his life for the advancement of Iran and the Islamic Revolution, he finally achieved his long-held aspiration, answered the divine call and received the sweet grace of martyrdom honorably in the trenches of service.”The President of Iran also expressed condolences over Larijani’s death, vowing to “avenge” his “blood”. Expressing his condolences, Pezeshkian described Larijani’s absence as “bitter and disturbing.” As quoted by the NYT, Pezeshkian praised Larijani’s decades of service to the Iranian government and said the country would “continue the path of defiance and resistance”.Meanwhile, in a televised address, Benjamin Netanyahu described Ali Larijani as “the boss of the Revolutionary Guards, which is really the gang of gangsters that run Iran”. The Israeli Prime Minister said the Iranian people could eventually overthrow their leadership, but warned: “It won’t happen all at once, it won’t happen easily. But if we keep at it – we will give them the opportunity to take their destiny into their own hands.”This came hours after Israel claimed Larijani was killed in an airstrike. Israel said it had killed another senior Iranian military figure on Tuesday, targeting Basij chief Gholamreza Soleimani. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, were “removed last night”. The funerals of Ali Larijani and Soleimani will be held in central Tehran on Wednesday morning, according to reports by Fars and Tasnim news agencies quoting AFP. The Israeli military also said it had earlier announced it had killed the group’s top commander, after which it attacked Basij positions around Tehran.