The Latest: Iran attacks Israel and Gulf countries after an Israeli strike kills its security chief
Mar 17, 2026, 9:53 PM
An explosion erupts from a building following an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Iran launched strikes toward Israel and neighboring Gulf countries early Wednesday, with explosions heard in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and interceptions reported in Saudi Arabia.
The attacks came hours after Iranian state media confirmed Israel’s military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike, as well as Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force, known for its role in suppressing protests.
Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in Bachoura, central Beirut, completely flattening it as day broke. Two earlier strikes on residential apartments in other central Beirut neighborhoods early Wednesday killed at least six people and wounded 24 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Israeli strikes targeting central Beirut — far from the city’s southern suburbs, for which the army issued evacuation notices early in the war with Hezbollah — have become increasingly frequent in recent days, with or without prior warning.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has killed at least 1,300 people in Iran, more than 900 in Lebanon and 14 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The U.S. military says 13 U.S. service members have been killed and about 200 wounded.
Here is the latest:
A senior Australian government minister said he isn’t aware of any formal U.S. request for military support to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers was responding Wednesday to U.S. President Donald Trump’s complaint that Australia, Japan, South Korea and NATO had rejected his calls to help secure the strait from Iranian attack.
Asked if Australia had received any formal U.S. request for extra military support to keep the strait open, Chalmers told Australian Broadcasting Corp: “Not that I’m aware of.”
“It’s not something that we’ve been considering, in terms of sending battleships to the Strait of Hormuz,” Chalmers told Sky News television in another interview.
