Larijani would be the most senior Iranian official to be assassinated since the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day of Israeli and US strikes on 28 February. The note praises the 84 "warriors" of the Iranian navy who were killed in a US submarine attack on their warship off the coast of Sri Lanka this month. A man in his 30s from Tehran said: "I think it was a very important step because the decision-making brains must be shut down. " A man in his 20s, who lives in the nearby city of Karaj, said: "When they die, you might not believe it, but I get so happy because they're criminals and have so much blood on their hands. After an unsuccessful run in the 2005 presidential election, he became Iran's chief nuclear negotiator with the West. He then served as Speaker of Iran's parliament for 12 years, from 2008 to 2020.