The Latest: Israel says it killed a top Iranian security official and the Basij force chief
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12:28 AM on Tuesday, March 17
By The Associated Press
Israel's defense minister said Tuesday that the military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike. The military also announced it killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force.
Iranian state media did not immediately confirm either death.
Also on Tuesday, a drone attack in the United Arab Emirates sparked a fire at an oil tank farm in Fujairah, an emirate on the country’s east coast with the Gulf of Oman that has been repeatedly targeted, the state-run WAM news agency reported. It said no one was injured in the blast.
The Israeli military also said Tuesday it had launched new attacks across Tehran and Beirut, with the strikes on the Lebanese capital targeting Hezbollah militants.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said “numerous countries” have told him “they’re on the way” to help police the Strait of Hormuz. But he also suggested some countries’ reluctance showed a lack of reciprocity in defense agreements with the United States.
The war has killed at least 1,300 people in Iran, at least 850 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The U.S. military says 13 U.S. service members have been killed and about 200 wounded.
Here is the latest:
An Associated Press journalist in Qatar heard air defenses targeting incoming fire in Doha, the country’s capital, on Tuesday afternoon.
The United Arab Emirates says its air defenses responded to 10 ballistic missiles and 45 drones Iran fired Tuesday at the Gulf county.
Israel’s military said it began new airstrikes Tuesday targeting Iran’s capital, Tehran.
A tanker anchored off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates was hit by debris early Tuesday morning as the nation came under several waves of Iranian attacks.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, run by the British military, reported the incident, saying the vessel was in the Gulf of Oman off Fujairah. It said the tanker sustained “minor structural damage” and no one was hurt.
The UKMTO later said it appeared falling debris from an interception hit the tanker, rather than the tanker being targeted itself.
Since the Iran war started, some 20 vessels in the region have come under attack as the Iranian fire effectively halts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil and natural gas trade passes.
China is offering emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran and three other countries because of the war. “The ongoing conflict has caused a grave humanitarian disaster for the people of regional countries, including Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing.
He did not provide any details on the amount or nature of the assistance.
China earlier said it would provide $200,000 to support the parents of the students killed in a missile strike that hit an elementary school in Iran.
Israel’s military warned of a new barrage of missile fire from Iran on Tuesday, with air defenses firing and explosions heard.
Albania’s Parliament adopted a resolution Tuesday declaring Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, with 79 lawmakers from Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party voting in favor of the measure.
The resolution also labels Iran a state sponsor of terrorism.
Taulant Balla, head of the Socialist parliamentary group, said the resolution aims to denounce state support for terrorism, the use of proxy groups for destabilization and hybrid tactics including cyberattacks on sovereign institutions.
“For Albania, this is not just a distant geopolitical issue,” Balla said, noting it has been a target of cyberattacks.
Albania blamed Iran’s Foreign Ministry for a July 2022 cyberattack that disrupted government information technology systems and shut down online public services for several days.
Officials said the attack was likely retaliation for Albania hosting members of an Iranian opposition group. Albania’s government then severed diplomatic ties with Iran.
The Red Cross says civilians in Iran are paying “a heavy price” as the U.S. and Israel war against the Islamic Republic shows no sign of abating.
Vincent Cassard, head of the Red Cross delegation in Iran, said the war has placed “heavy strain” on Iranians.
“The heavy loss of life is alarming,” he said. “Daily life in Tehran has been profoundly disrupted.”
He said damaged schools and hospitals, as well as facilities of the Iranian Red Crescent, show “the heavy price that civilians are paying as a result of hostilities.”
Israel says it killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, in a combat tent alongside other Basij commanders.
They were using the tent as makeshift headquarters due to concerns their regular bases could be targeted, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines.
Two Palestinians were killed Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The strike hit a vehicle in the Muwasi, a tent camp area west of the southern city of Khan Younis, the Red Crescent said in a statement.
Twelve others were wounded in the strike and taken to a hospital run by the Red Crescent in Khan Younis, it said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
A Pakistani national was killed by falling debris in Abu Dhabi following the interception of an incoming missile, Pakistan’s embassy said.
It was the third announced death of a Pakistan national in the Emirates since the start of the war.
Israeli defense minister said Tuesday that the Israeli military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike.
The Israeli military also announced it killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force.
Iranian state media did not immediately confirm either death. However, it said a message from Larijani’s office would published shortly.
The killings again strip away top leaders from the Iranian theocracy after the Feb. 28 strike that killed 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Larijani and the Basij commander were eliminated last night and have joined Khamenei, the head of the annihilation program, along with all those eliminated from the axis of evil in the depths of hell,” Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, said in a statement.
Two medics were injured when shrapnel fell on an ambulance center in Kuwait during an attack on the Gulf nation, authorities said.
The Health Ministry said the injured were taken to a hospital and they are in stable condition.
The killing of Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani comes on the eve of “Chaharshanbe Souri,” or the Festival of Fire in Iran on Tuesday night.
The festival comes in the hours just before the Wednesday before Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year.
To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating off into the night sky. Others jump over and around fires, chanting “My yellow is yours, your red is mine,” invoking the replacement of ills with warmth and energy.
Authorities already have sent threatening text messages to the public, urging them not to take part in the festival, worried it could lead to renewed protests against the theocracy as it faces likely the greatest challenge to its survival since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who had drawn people into the streets during nationwide protests in January, issued a warning Monday saying Iranian authorities “issued threats of deadly force to suppress these peaceful celebrations and prevent the Iranian people from honoring their heritage.”
He earlier urged demonstrations in front of Iranian embassies abroad on Tuesday.
The Israeli military said Tuesday it killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani in a strike on Monday.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge Soleimani’s killing.
The all-volunteer force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is used to suppress demonstrations in the country.
“The Basij forces are part of the armed apparatus of the Iranian terror regime,” the Israeli military said in its statement. “During internal protests in Iran, particularly in recent periods as demonstrations intensified, Basij forces under Soleimani’s command led the main repression operations, employing severe violence, widespread arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators.”
The U.S. Treasury listed Soleimani’s birth year as 1965. He has been sanctioned by the U.S., the European Union and other nations over his role in helping suppress dissent for years through the Basij.
Bahrain has reported Tuesday that it has been targeted by more drone attacks from Iran.
The country's Defense Ministry tallied 129 missiles and 233 drones fired toward the county since the start of the war. It’s an increase of nine drones since Monday.
Lebanon's army said five of its soldiers were hurt after the Tuesday morning airstrike on the village of Kfar Sir.
Two of the five soldiers were seriously wounded.
The army said the troops were hurt while traveling in a car and a motorcycle. They were all taken to hospital for treatment.
Iran and Iraq are holding talks about allowing transit of Iraq’s oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Iraqi
Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani said Tuesday.
The comments were carried by the country’s state-run Iraqi News Agency.
The war and the virtual closure of the strait have severely impacted Iraq, where the economy depends overwhelmingly on oil.
The news agency said Iraq’s oil production has been reduced to 1.2 million barrels daily, down from 4.3 million barrels daily prior to the war.
China is communicating with the U.S. about issues including a planned visit by President Donald Trump, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.
“China and the U.S. are in communication on issues including the timing of President Trump’s visit to China,” Lin Jian said in Beijing.
Trump on Monday said because of the war he proposed a delay to the trip, which was scheduled for late March to early April.
Lin added that U.S. officials clarified “the visit is unrelated to the issue of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Trump told the Financial Times that he would like to know before leaving for Beijing whether China would help secure the strait.
A U.S. trade official on Monday walked back the statement, saying a postponement would be unrelated to China’s help in the strait.
South Korea says 26 of its vessels and 183 crew members remain in waters around the Strait of Hormuz.
Park Il, spokesperson of South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday that officials are in close contact with port authorities in nearby countries to facilitate the provision of food and other supplies.
Park said they plan to take unspecified additional steps if the situation worsens.
South Korea has been cautious about discussing support for U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump urged several governments, including Seoul, to deploy naval assets.
“The government will maintain close communication with the U.S. side and conduct a close and careful review of the issue, taking into account various factors and the changing regional situation,” Park said.
The speaker of Iran’s parliament told Iranian state television that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be “as it was before” as Iranian fire keeps nearly all traffic out of the strategic waterway.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the comment in an interview aired Tuesday as Iranian fire continues to target shipping in the region.
“They are flying, launching missiles, should we just sit back and do nothing in response, or not? Naturally, it is our undeniable right. We must do this,” Qalibaf said.
The strait typically sees 20% of all oil and natural gas traded pass through it.
