US-Israel-Iran War News Updates: Iran's Natural Gas Facility Attacked, Israel Kills Several Iranian Officials

There have been reports of new attacks on the US embassy compound in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad overnight.

AFP and Reuters news agencies reported explosions in the early hours of Wednesday local time.

The agencies cited security sources and AFP journalists in the city heard explosions near the embassy, which is in the highly fortified Green Zone area, home to many diplomatic missions and international organisations.

The US outpost has been attacked several times since the start of the war.

The US military has struck Iranian missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz using powerful bombs able to penetrate bunkers.

In a post on X the US Central Command said its forces had successfully used multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran's coastline of the strait.

The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles at these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait, according to the US military.

Iran has effectively closed the waterway, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil shipments pass, sharply disrupting maritime traffic and pushing up global oil prices.

The bombs, known as bunker busters and reportedly costing an estimated $288,000 each, are less powerful than the 30,000-pound bombs the US dropped last year on three underground nuclear sites in Iran.

An Israeli airstrike hit a building in Beirut’s Bachoura neighbourhood, in the centre of the city, on Wednesday 18 March 2026. A Reuters witness reported hearing a loud explosion in the area.

The Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for residents of the building before carrying out the strike.

The attack was one of several Israeli strikes on Lebanon that day. These included raids on other districts of Beirut as well as locations in southern and eastern Lebanon.

The operations mark an escalation in Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

Top national security officials from the Trump administration are due to face back-to-back congressional hearings starting on Wednesday 18 March 2026.

According to AP, they are expected to be questioned about the war in Iran, including a deadly strike on a school, and about the FBI’s ability to stop terror attacks inside the United States.

The annual worldwide threats hearings, which involve the government’s most senior intelligence officials, are taking place amid scrutiny of the US military campaign in the Middle East.

There are also heightened concerns about terrorism in the US following recent attacks at a Michigan synagogue and a Virginia university.

An Israeli air strike has killed Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani. This has removed one of the Islamic Republic's experienced policy makers at a critical moment.

Larijani was not a military commander. He was a central figure in shaping Iran's strategic decisions.

As secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, he took part in decision-making on war, diplomacy, and national security.

His voice carried weight across the system, particularly in managing Iran's confrontation with the United States and Israel.

His death comes amid a broader campaign in which several senior Iranian officials and commanders have been killed within a matter of weeks. This pattern suggests a sustained effort to weaken Iran's leadership structure during wartime.

Despite his hardline stance against the West, Larijani was often described inside Iran as a pragmatist. He combined ideological loyalty with a technocratic approach, favouring calculated strategy over rhetoric.

According to BBC, the Israeli air strike killed Ali Larijani.

Lebanon Civil Defense said 11 of its personnel were injured in an Israeli strike on the city of Nabatieh.

Lebanese authorities report that Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed at least 912 people and displaced over one million residents, with more than 130,000 currently taking shelter in official facilities.

The Dubai Media Office said its air interception systems successfully neutralised the threat, adding that no injuries were reported in a post on X.

Israel has launched a second air strike on the Zuqaq al-Blat area of Beirut, with the latest attack hitting a residential apartment, accordingto Al-Jazeera.

Israel’s Health Ministry says 192 people were admitted to hospitals in the past 24 hours. Four of them were moderately wounded and the majority had mild injuries.

In a post on X, the ministry said 3,727 people have been admitted to hospitals with injuries since the war began.

According to Al Jazeera, Israel’s Health Ministry reported these figures.

Iran will hold funerals today for its security chief Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary force. Both were killed in Israeli air strikes.

According to Al Jazeera, Iran will hold the funerals today for Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani.

Australia’s Prime Minister told reporters about an incident at the Al Minhad base in the UAE. He said he was informing the Australian public in a transparent way at the first available opportunity.

When asked if he thought Australian forces were targeted by Iran, Albanese said it is important to recognise that the Iranian regime is continuing to engage in random attacks right across the Gulf region.

According to Al Jazeera, Australia’s PM made these comments about the incident and Iran’s actions in the Gulf.

Iran has pledged revenge after Israeli strikes killed security chief Larijani and commander of the Basij paramilitary forces Soleimani. Foreign Minister Araghchi said Tehran’s political system remains strong as the war entered its 19th day.

Iran launched more attacks on Israel, causing extensive property damage, after an earlier strike killed two people near Tel Aviv.

The conflict is increasingly spilling across the region, with Iran and allied groups launching missiles and drones against Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan.

President Trump criticised NATO allies and partners for failing to provide stronger military support in efforts to end Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Al Jazeera, these developments mark day 19 of the US-Israel attacks on Iran.

Iran’s judiciary reported on Wednesday that an enemy “attack” struck southern Iran, killing and wounding civilians and judicial staff.

The judiciary’s Mizan news agency said the attack targeted a judiciary site in Larestan County, Fars province.

According to Al Jazeera, Mizan reported that the site “was targeted in an attack by the enemy.” It stated: “A number of staff members and civilians were ‘martyred’ and injured, the exact number is still unknown.”

Mizan described the targeted location as a judiciary complex in Larestan County that was hit during working hours.

Mizan later described the incident as airstrikes and attributed responsibility to the United States and Israel.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes on central Beirut killed 10 people.

The ministry said on Wednesday that airstrikes on the capital since midnight also wounded 27.

According to AP, since the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on 2 March, there have been 912 people killed and 2,221 wounded in Lebanon, the ministry said.

Russia said there was no damage or injuries following a strike near a nuclear power plant in Iran. According to AP, Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia’s nuclear corporation Rosatom, said on Wednesday that the strike a day earlier hit an area near the metrology service building, which is located close to the reactor.

He added that radiation levels remained unchanged.

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said it had dismantled dozens of opposition groups described as “royalist cells” and detained four people accused of spying for the United States. According to Al Jazeera, the operation took place across the country and involved arrests in multiple regions.

The ministry said 111 people were identified and arrested overnight in 26 provinces, adding that a “significant” number of weapons were seized.

It also said four alleged US-linked spies were arrested in Hamadan and West Azerbaijan provinces. According to Al Jazeera, officials claimed those detained had been passing information about the location of headquarters, equipment and the deployment of security forces.

Turkiye’s Defence Ministry said NATO is deploying another US Patriot missile defence system to Adana province in the south, where personnel from the United States and other countries are based at Incirlik Air Base. According to Al Jazeera, the move adds to existing alliance deployments in the country.

Turkiye said last week that NATO had already sent a Patriot system to Malatya province in the southeast, near a NATO radar base, as part of efforts to strengthen protection against missile threats from Iran.

The country, which has NATO’s second-largest army and shares a border with Iran, does not yet have a fully developed air defence system. According to Al Jazeera, it has relied on NATO air defences in the eastern Mediterranean to intercept three missiles it says were launched from Iran since the war began.

A journalist working with Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV was killed in an airstrike on Wednesday, the broadcaster said. According to Al Jazeera, the station identified the victim as Mohammed Sherri, who headed its political programme.

Al-Manar said Sherri and his wife were killed in a strike on the Zokak Blatt area in central Beirut. His children and grandchildren were reported injured in the same attack.

Sherri had worked as a presenter at the station for many years and was known in Lebanon. According to AP, earlier in the current round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, an Israeli airstrike struck Al-Manar’s headquarters south of Beirut.

The Kremlin condemned the killing of Iran’s leadership when asked about Ali Larijani. According to AP, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “we absolutely condemn” the killings.

Ali Larijani was the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and one of the country’s most powerful figures. According to Al Jazeera, he held a senior position within Iran’s leadership.

Israel’s Defense Minister Katz said he and Netanyahu had authorised the military to ⁠kill any ⁠other senior ⁠Iranian official being targeted without the need for ‌additional approval.

- As per Al Jazeera.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that they ⁠will ⁠continue mediating to push for a ceasefire and ⁠an end to fighting in ⁠the Middle East.

In remarks during a meeting in Beijing with the UAE ⁠presidential special envoy to China, ⁠Yi said the war should never have ‌happened and has no reason to continue, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

Israel said Wednesday it killed another top Iranian official, the third in two days, while Iran lashed out with attacks on its Persian Gulf neighbors and Israel, using some of its latest missiles to evade air defenses and killing two people near Tel Aviv as the war in the Middle East showed no signs of slowing.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib had been killed in an overnight strike and promised that “significant surprises are expected throughout this day on all fronts,” without elaborating.

South Pars field' an offshore natural gas field, was attacked on March 18, Iranian state media reported.

A funeral ceremony was held in Tehran for top security official Ali Larijani and Basij forces chief Gholamreza Soleimani, who were killed in US-Israeli air strikes, Iranian media reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday he spoke with Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah of Kuwait and conveyed greetings ahead of Eid.

In a post on X, PM Modi said they discussed the "evolving situation in West Asia" and shared concerns over recent developments. He reiterated India’s condemnation of attacks on Kuwait’s sovereignty and stressed that "ensuring safe and free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remains our foremost priority".

Several Israeli media outlets are now reporting, quoting local officials, that Israeli jets have carried out strikes on Iranian gas infrastructure in Bushehr province, southern Iran.

Iran intends to respond to strikes on its gas facilities in Asaluyeh by targeting “enemy infrastructure that was previously thought to be safe”, Fars news agency is reporting, citing Iranian military sources.

Fars reported that the attack on gas facilities was a “war crime” that would not go unpunished.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a daily briefing said: “We firmly condemn actions aimed at harming the health and, even more, the killing of the leadership of sovereign and independent Iran. We condemn such actions,” .

Trump’s chief spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, said Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was a “known terrorist.”

“Of course, this man is no longer with us here on earth,” she said during a morning appearance on Fox News Channel. “And that’s a good thing for the United States. And it’s a good thing for the American people who have long been threatened by this rogue terrorist regime.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday that its military had killed Khatib.

Iran’s military vows to respond with force following attack on South Pars offshore natural gas field.

“Targeting fuel, energy and gas infrastructure in the aggressor country is our legitimate right and we will respond with force as soon as possible,” Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement

The act applies to goods shipped between U.S. ports to be moved on U.S.-flagged vessels. The 1920s law, designed to protect the American shipbuilding sector, is often blamed for making gas more expensive.

The moves highlight the increased pressure the Republican administration is under to ease soaring oil prices as the United States, along with Israel, wages a war with Iran without a foreseeable end date. Global oil prices have since spiked as Iran halted traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

-AP

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before a Senate committee that the U.S. attacks on Iran have "obliterated" the country's deep underground facilities and nuclear enrichment program.

Gabbard said the U.S. has been monitoring whether Iran’s leadership will try to restart its nuclear program but so far, they have not tried to rebuild their nuclear enrichment capability.

Israeli Airport Authority spokeswoman Liza Dvir said 3 private planes were damaged by missile interceptions at Israel’s main airport and debris from interceptions in recent days had hit the aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

Air traffic from Israel has been severely curtailed since the start of the war.

The sky lit up over the Saudi capital late Wednesday, and an interceptor missile flew overhead as two major explosions were heard in Riyadh.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.