Iran launces strikes on Israel, U.S. assets after Larijani is killed

Iran intensified attacks against U.S. assets in the Middle East and Israel on Wednesday in apparent retaliation against the killing of the country’s security chief Ali Larijani overnight, as the weeks-long conflict shows no signs of abating.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly said Wednesday that its missiles have hit more than 100 military and security targets in the heart of Israeli territories as “revenge” for the killing of Larijani, his son and aide, citing Iranian semi-official Fars news agency.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has confirmed the death of Larijani, along with his son Morteza Larijani and the head of his office, Alireza Bayat, as well as several guards, the Associated Press reported.

In an interview with Al Jazeera aired later in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the U.S. and Israel had yet to realize that Iran’s government does not rely on a single individual.

“The presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure,” he said.

The IRGC has launched a combined drone and missile attack in Tel Aviv and areas in central Israel. Two people were killed near Tel Aviv during an Iranian missile strike, Israeli emergency responders said early Wednesday.

Iran has also launched several explosive drones at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, triggering sirens with an explosion heard near the diplomatic compound, Reuters reported. Separately, Tehran also fired a projectile near an Australian airbase in the United Arab Emirates, according to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese — no personnel were injured.

The series of attacks comes after Israel killed Larijani, the head of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the leader of a powerful militia aligned with the IRGC, in deadly airstrikes on Tuesday.

The hostilities have continued to spread in the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, with no signs of de-escalation. Booms were heard in Doha on Wednesday morning, according to Reuters.

BMI, a research unit under Fitch Solutions, said there will likely be “a messy escalation,” given the intensifying military action in the region. It also warned of the possibility that Tehran may also activate Houthis, a Yemen-based military organization backed by Iran, if its ability to launch attacks diminishes and if it wishes to further increase pressure on the U.S.

Such escalatory moves by Iran would “prevent Trump from declaring victory … encourage the U.S. and allies to continue the campaign with an eye to dislodging the regime and eliminating the threat it poses once and for all,” the analysts said.

Attacks have broadened to target Iran’s banking and financial infrastructure, a move that could spur protests and further instability in the country. Last week, U.S. and Israeli forces reportedly struck Sepah Bank’s digital security center — the bank has had links with Iran’s military. That followed a cyberattack a day earlier that hit both Sepah and Melli Bank.

U.S. President Donald Trump has unsuccessfully sought to enlist other countries in recent days for military help to restore the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz that has been effectively closed by Iran, sending energy prices soaring. A fifth of the global oil transited through the strategic waterway before the conflict started.

In Iran, Tehran said that a projectile struck the premises of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant Tuesday evening, although no damage to the plant or injuries to staff were reported, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In direct target against the critical energy chokepoint, U.S. forces on Tuesday dropped 5,000-pound bombs on Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. military.

Saudi Arabia is expected to host a consultative meeting of foreign ministers from a number of Arab and Muslim countries in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing conflict in the region.