Iran has launched more attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killings of its security chief, Ali Larijani, and Basij force Commander Gholamreza Soleimani.
Iran lashed out following the killing of one of its top leaders with attacks on its Gulf neighbors and Israel today, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, using some of its latest missiles to evade air defenses and killing two near Tel Aviv.
Iran’s supreme national security council confirmed the death of its Chief, Ali Larijani, after Israel said it had killed him in an airstrike. “The pure souls of the martyrs embraced the purified soul of God’s righteous servant, Martyr Dr Ali Larijani,” the council said on Tuesday evening, adding that his son and his bodyguards had died with him.
“After a lifetime of struggle for the advancement of Iran and of the Islamic Revolution, he ultimately attained his long-held aspiration, answered the divine call, and honourably achieved the sweet grace of martyrdom in the trench of service.”
Iran’s supreme national security council
Iran’s army chief Amir Hatami threatened to launch a “decisive and regrettable” retaliation for the killing. Israel said earlier it had killed Larijani, a linchpin of Iranian politics, in overnight strikes.
He is the most senior Iranian figure to die in the war since the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed on its first day. His death removes a pivotal figure at the heart of the regime’s political and security establishment at a moment of acute crisis and represents a devastating blow.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said a separate strike had killed the Basij paramilitary force Commander, Gholamreza Soleimani, along with other senior Basij figures. Soleimani’s death was later confirmed by Iranian state media.
Responding to Israel’s killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and one of the country’s most powerful figures, the Republican Guard said Wednesday that it had targeted central Israel with multiple-warhead missiles, which have an increased chance of evading missile defense systems and can overwhelm radar tracking systems.
Israel reported at least two salvoes of incoming fire and the country’s medical service said two people were killed in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the force launched the Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr multiple-warhead missiles to avenge Larijani’s killing.
New attacks were reported in multiple Gulf countries early Wednesday, including on Saudi Arabia’s vast Eastern Province, which is home to many of its oil fields, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a projectile caused a small fire at its base in the UAE near Dubai but caused no injuries.
His comments appeared to correspond with explosions heard near Al Minhad Air Base, used by Western nations as a transit hub for the wider Mideast.
Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile targeting the area of the Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts American forces and aircraft.
Also, Iran’s judiciary announced a man had been executed on charges that he spied for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The judiciary’s news agency identified the man as Kourosh Keyvani and alleged that he “provided images and information on sensitive locations” to Israel.Activists and rights groups have warned since Iran’s nationwide protests in January that the Islamic Republic could begin conducting mass executions. Iran violently suppressed the protests through violence that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained.
Renewed Israeli strikes in Lebanon
Meanwhile, Israel kept up intense pressure on Lebanon with strikes it said targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, hitting multiple apartment buildings in Beirut and killing at least six people.
Israel flattened an apartment building in central Beirut about an hour after issuing an evacuation notice. It was the fourth time the building has been targeted, but three strikes last week failed to bring it down.
Israel’s military claimed the building was being used by Hezbollah to store “millions of dollars intended to finance its activities,” without providing evidence.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, but other attacks on apartment buildings in central Beirut have killed at least six people and wounded 24 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
The Israeli army also said it had begun a wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon “in response to firing into Israeli territory.”
Israel’s strikes have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese, roughly 20% of the population, according to the Lebanese government, which says more than 900 people have been killed.
In Israel, 14 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 US military members have been killed.
READ ALSO: Pakistan Accused Of Killing 400 In Attack On Kabul Hospital
