US-Israel-Iran War News Updates: Israel Claims To Have Killed Top Iranian Official Ali Larijani

A tanker anchored off the UAE’s eastern coast was hit by a projectile early Tuesday morning as the nation came under several waves of Iranian attacks.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, run by the British military, reported the attack, saying the vessel was in the Gulf of Oman off Fujairah.

It said the tanker sustained “minor structural damage” and no one was hurt.

Since the Iran war started, some 20 vessels in the region have come under attack as 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 traded passes.

AP

Minutes after raising the alarm about the second Iranian missile launch since midnight on Monday into Tuesday, Israel's military announced it has started a "wide scale wave of strikes" throughout Tehran.

The Israeli military also said that it was striking Hezbollah's facilities in Beirut during the night.

AP reported that explosions were heard in Qatar as air defenses near Doha worked to intercept incoming Iranian fire on Tuesday morning.

Qatar’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted a missile attack on the country a short time later.

Dubai residents reported missile alerts around the same time.

Russia on Monday called on all parties involved in the West Asia conflict to immediately cease hostilities and refrain from attacks on civilian infrastructure.

In a statement posted on its web portal, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the loss of civilian lives and suffering in both the Gulf Arab states and Iran must stop.

Moscow also offered its “existing capabilities to facilitate a long-term and sustainable resolution to the conflict”.

"With their treacherous, unprovoked attack on Iran, the United States and Israel have unleashed an unprecedented cycle of violence in the Middle East, with no end in sight,” the ministry said.

"We renew our urgent call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and shift the situation to a political and diplomatic framework. Above all, we call on all parties to refrain from attacks on civilian objects and infrastructure and to stop the loss of life and suffering among civilians, both in the Gulf Arab states and in Iran," the statement said.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he will not allow the UK to be drawn into a "wider war" in the Middle East, asserting that he is working with European allies to develop a "viable plan" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Starmer asserted that he would not allow the UK to be drawn into a "wider war".

"I want to see an end to this war as quickly as possible. Because the longer it goes on, the more dangerous the situation becomes," he said.

"We are strong allies, have been for decades. But it is for me to act in what I consider to be in the best interest of Britain." In a statement last night, a spokesperson for the British prime minister said that Starmer and Trump "discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to end the disruption to global shipping, which is driving up costs worldwide."

A Pakistani man was killed Tuesday morning in a missile attack on the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, authorities say.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office says the man was killed when shrapnel fell in the Bani Yas area while air defenses were intercepting a ballistic missile.

The death toll in the UAE since the start of the war is now at eight people including two soldiers, according to authorities.

AP

In Iran’s capital, Tehran, residents reported hearing airstrikes in the night even as heavy rain and a thunderstorm swept across the area.

Australian and New Zealand government ministers agree the Middle East war should end as quickly as possible.

Tuesday's annual meeting between the foreign and defence ministers of Australia and New Zealand took place in Canberra, Australia's capital.

“We discussed the escalating situation in the Middle East. We want this crisis to end as quickly possible and move to a negotiated solution,” New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters told reporters at a joint press conference after the meeting.

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.

“Certainly, from now on, with the interventions that have taken place, the strait can no longer be, from a legal standpoint and in terms of transit, as it was before,” Qalibaf said. “It no longer has the necessary security. It does not have the necessary security.”

The strait typically sees 20% of all oil and natural gas traded pass through it.

South Korea says 26 of its vessels and 183 crewmembers 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.

The all-volunteer force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is used to suppress demonstrations in the country.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it killed Gholamreza Soleimani in a strike on Monday.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge Soleimani’s killing.

AP

The Israeli Defence Minister said the Israeli military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike. Israel Katz made the announcement.

The Israeli military also announced it killed Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force.

The killings again strip away top leaders from the Iranian theocracy after the February 28 strike that killed 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s President Pezeshkian has called on Tehran residents to attend the funerals of 84 sailors who were killed when the Iranian Navy’s IRIS Dena was sunk by a US torpedo off the coast of Sri Lanka earlier this month.

In a message carried by the Tasnim news agency, Pezeshkian said Iran’s enemies “should know that in the shadow of the name of each of these high-ranking martyrs, thousands of other brave men will rise”.

Al Jazeera reported that some explosions are being reported in northern Israel after the army said missile launches had been detected coming in from Iran.

The Israeli Home Front Command also said sirens were sounding in Nahariya and towns in Western Galilee.

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry says it has seized hundreds of Starlink systems, which can connect to the internet via a network of satellites, claiming they were smuggled into the country by the US and Israel.

In a statement cited by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, the ministry said it would continue to track down illicit Starlink systems until “all satellite internet terminals serving the enemy are fully identified”.

Israel’s military says it has detected more missiles fired from Iran towards Israel.

It says defence systems are working to intercept the missiles and that people in affected areas will receive mobile alerts.

A projectile has struck a tanker anchored 23 nautical miles (42.6km) east of Fujairah in the UAE, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

No injuries were reported in the incident, which caused minor structural damage, it added.

According to UKMTO, the vessel’s company security officer said investigations indicate the damage was likely caused by falling debris from interceptions in the area.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Iranians are “safer” following the reported killing of senior security figures Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani in Israeli strikes.

Speaking in Jerusalem, Saar said the operations are aimed at weakening Iran’s “repression mechanism.” He added that while any change in the regime must come from the Iranian people, it would likely require external support.

He described Iran’s effective blocking of the Strait of Hormuz as a “global problem,” following calls by Donald Trump for international efforts to secure the key shipping route.

The head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joseph Kent resigned on Tuesday, becoming the first and most senior member of Donald Trump’s administration to step down over the war in Iran, stating that Tehran did not pose an immediate threat to the United States.

"I ​cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war ⁠in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to ​our nation, and it is clear that we started this ​war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful lobby," he wrote in a letter to Trump posted on social media platform X.

An Israeli air strike on Beirut’s Airport Road has killed one person and injured nine others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The ministry’s emergency operations centre confirmed the casualties, as reported by the National News Agency.

The Israeli attacks have killed 912 people in Lebanon and wounded 2,221 more, the country’s Ministry of Public Health has said in its latest update.

The death toll was previously tallied at 886 people as of Monday.

In response to a question about the resignation of the US National Counterterrorism Centre’s director, Joe Kent, Trump said he was “very weak on security”.

“When I read his statement, I thought it was a good thing he’s out, because he said Iran was not a threat,” the president continued. “Every country realised what a threat Iran was – the question was whether they wanted to do something about it.”