Israel says it killed 2 top Iranian officials in wartime blow to country’s leadership

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel said Tuesday it killed two senior Iranian security officials in overnight strikes in a major blow to the country’s leadership. Iran, which did not immediately confirm either death, fired new salvos of missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel in a war that showed no signs of abating.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, were “eliminated last night,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said. Larijani was considered one of the most powerful figures in the country since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war.

Both men were key to Iran’s violent crackdown on protests in January that challenged the theocracy’s 47-year rule. The killings would strip Iran of important leaders as the Islamic Republic faces its greatest test in recent decades in its war with the United States and Israel.

With concerns growing about a global energy crisis, Iran fired new attacks at several of its Gulf Arab neighbors and oil infrastructure throughout the region. Dubai, a major transit hub for international travel, briefly shut its airspace, the second disruption to flights in the city in as many days. An Iranian official said Tehran had no intention of relinquishing its tight grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil.

The Israeli military also said it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran’s capital and was stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Israel says it has killed two top Iranian officials

Larijani hails from one of Iran’s best-known political families. A former parliamentary speaker and senior policy adviser, he advised the late Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration.

Larijani was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in January as Tehran violently suppressed nationwide protests. It identified him as being “responsible for coordinating the response to the protests on behalf of the supreme leader of Iran.”
Soleimani also wassanctioned by the U.S., as well as the European Union and other nations, over his role in helping suppress dissent for years through the Basij.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killings were aimed at weakening Iran’s government. “We are undermining this regime to give the Iranian people the opportunity to remove it. It won’t happen quickly or easily, but if we persist, they will have the chance to take their destiny into their own hands,” he said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since succeeding his father, who was killed in the opening day of the war. Israel suspects Khamenei was wounded.

Iranian strikes pressure neighbors and oil markets

Iran kept up the pressure on the energy infrastructure around the region, hitting an oil facility in Fujairah, an emirate in the United Arab Emirates that has been repeatedly targeted. State-run WAM news reported that no one had been injured in the blast from the drone strike.

Also Tuesday, a tanker anchored off the coast of Fujairah sustained minor damage when it was hit by debris from an interception, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, run by the British military, reported. Nobody was injured.

A man was killed by the debris of a missile intercepted over Abu Dhabi, the eighth person to die in the UAE since the start of the war, authorities said.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.

A handful of ships have crossed through the strait, and Iran has said the vital waterway technically remains open — just not for the United States, Israel and their allies. About 20 vessels have been struck since the war began.

“They are flying, launching missiles, should we just sit back and do nothing in response?” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on state television.

With oil prices rising, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had demanded that roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to ensure ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz. But his appeals brought no immediate commitments, with many saying they are hesitant to get involved in a war with no defined exit plan and skeptical that they could do more than the U.S. Navy.

UAE briefly closes airspace as Iran launches new attacks on Gulf neighbors

The UAE shut down its airspace early Tuesday as its military reported it was “responding to missile and drone threats from Iran.” The closure was soon lifted, and not long after the sounds of explosions could be heard as the military worked to intercept incoming fire.

The episode showed the balancing act Emirati authorities face in trying to keep their long-haul carriers, Emirates and Etihad, flying as Iran continues to target the country. The UAE said its air defenses responded to 10 ballistic missiles and 45 drones Iran fired Tuesday at the country.

Countries around the region also came under fire: Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones, while air defenses could be heard targeting incoming fire over Doha, the capital of Qatar. Attacks from Iran-linked proxy forces continued in Iraq, where the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was hit with shrapnel from intercepted drones.

Israel launches new attacks on Tehran and steps up strikes on Beirut

The Israeli military early Tuesday said it had launched new attacks across Tehran and targeted Hezbollah militants in the Lebanese capital. Hezbollah began firing rockets into the northern Israel after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran last month.

In Iran, it said it hit command centers, missile launch sites and air defense systems. There was no immediate confirmation from Iran, where little information has been coming out due to internet outages, round-the-clock airstrikes and tight restrictions on journalists.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the start of the conflict, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

Israel did not immediately release details of its attacks on Lebanon, but the Lebanese army said that one of its soldiers died and four more were wounded in an airstrike on the village of Kfar Sir.

Israel’s strikes have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese — or roughly 20% of the population — according to the Lebanese government, which says some 850 people have been killed.

Some Israeli troops have pushed into southern Lebanon, and there are fears Israel is preparing a large-scale invasion.

Israel reported two Iranian salvos early Tuesday fired toward Tel Aviv and an area south of the Sea of Galilee, and then more later in the day. More launches from Lebanon were also reported.

In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.
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Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.