Breaking News: Iran Responds with Missile Barrage After Israeli Strike on Officials
DUBAI – Iran launched a major barrage of missiles and drones against Israel and Gulf Arab states Wednesday in retaliation after Israel killed two of the country’s most senior security officials in overnight strikes.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij militia, were eliminated. Both men had been key figures in Iran’s government since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike at the start of the conflict on February 28.
Iran confirmed both deaths through official state media. The killings represent a significant blow to Iran’s leadership structure as the country faces its gravest crisis in decades.
Sirens wailed across central Israel as the Iranian missiles approached. Israel’s medical service reported two people killed in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Arab states also faced incoming missiles that were intercepted by air defense systems. In Dubai, explosions rang out early Wednesday morning as air defenses engaged incoming projectiles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killings aimed to “undermine this regime to give the Iranian people the opportunity to remove it,” though no anti-government protests have emerged since fighting began.
The escalating conflict is creating global economic concerns. An Iranian official stated Tehran has no intention of relaxing its control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil travels. President Trump said NATO and most allies have rejected his calls to send warships to secure the waterway. US Central Command reported striking Iranian missile sites near the strait with deep penetrator bombs.
The violence has devastated Lebanon, where more than 1 million people have been displaced and 912 killed by Israeli strikes. In Israel, 14 people have died from Iranian missile fire. Over 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the conflict started.
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