Iranian state media reports that Ali Samhani, a close associate of Ali Hameni, is in a steady state after being injured in an Israeli attack on the first day of the conflict and issued a message.

“I am alive and ready to sacrifice,” he said in a message to Hameni and the Iranian nation, according to Al Jazeera.

THE His death had been confirmed by the Iranian state television network After Israel’s blows last Friday, along with the deaths of the Head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami and Lieutenant General Mohammad Baggeri.

Samhani was a leading national security official in the country for a decade since 2013, and before serving in various important roles, including in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the Ministry of Defense.

It is a “rising star” of Iranian diplomacy, known in foreign policy circles in Washington and Europe.

Samhani represented Iran in talks with China’s mediation with Saudi officials, which led the two countries to agree to remedy diplomatic relations after years of hostility.

But was replaced suddenly in mid -2023.

The former head of national security is ambitious, experts say, and has a large portfolio. He went down to the presidency in 2001 to occupy key positions on the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Defense. Some analysts then believed that Hameni could considered him too ambitious.

Nevertheless, he remained a close associate of the Supreme Leader and gave advice as Iran returned to nuclear talks with President Donald Trump’s government.

In April, a few days before talks with the US, he warned that Tehran could deport the UN nuclear inspectors and cut off cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if it felt that he was threatened.