Killing of Larijani will not destabilise Iranian political system: Minister

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi says US-Israeli assassinations will not topple Tehran’s ‘strong political structure’.Israel’s killing of Ali Larijani, the powerful secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, will not deal a fatal blow to Iran’s leadership, the country’s foreign minister said.In an interview with Al Jazeera, aired after the killing of Larijani was confirmed by Tehran early on Wednesday, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi said the United States and Israel had yet to realise that Iran’s government does not rely on a single individual.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Experts discuss ‘Israeli strategy’ in killing of senior Iran official Ali Llist 2 of 4Who is Joe Kent, and why did he resign as Trump’s counterterrorism chief?list 3 of 4Ukraine sends 201 military experts to counter Iranian drones in the Gulflist 4 of 4Iran allowing more ships through Strait of Hormuz, data suggestend of list“I do not know why the Americans and the Israelis still have not understood this point: The Iran" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="8614" data-entity-type="organization">Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economic, and social institutions,” Araghchi said.“The presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure,” he said.“Of course, individuals are influential, and each person plays their role – some better, some worse, some less – but what matters is that the political system in Iran is a very solid structure.”Araghchi pointed to the assassination of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of US-Israeli strikes on 28 February, noting that despite the huge national loss, “the system continued”.“We have not had anyone more important than the leader himself, and even the leader was martyred, yet the system continued its work and immediately provided a replacement,” the foreign minister said.“If anyone else is martyred, it will be the same,” he added.“If the foreign minister were ever to be martyred, there would ultimately be someone else to take the position.”The killing of Larijani, 67, a confidant of the slain Ali Khamenei and his son ⁠and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, in an attack on Monday night, marks the removal of the most senior figure in Tehran’s leadership since the opening air strikes of the war 19 days ago.