Iran’s security chief killed in US‑Israeli strikes, missile barrage hits Tel Aviv (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
Iran confirmed the deaths of top security official Ali Larijani and Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of the Basij paramilitary force, in US-Israeli strikes on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump earlier criticized NATO members and partner nations for not joining the war on Iran after a number of allies refused to heed his call to send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz. He accused them of doing nothing for the US “in time of need,” while enjoying American military aid and protection.
Meanwhile, global oil prices are trading above $100 per barrel, more than 40% higher than before the Iran war began, stoking fears of a deeper energy crisis.
Here are the latest developments:
- Two people in their 70s were killed during Iranian missile strikes on Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, on Wednesday morning, Israeli medical officials said.
- Some 12,000 housing units in Tehran have been destroyed or damaged by the US-Israeli attacks since February 28, the Iranian capital’s governor has said
- Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is “fine” and will soon issue another statement, according to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Esmail Baghaei.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
17 March 2026
23:01 GMTNew Iranian strikes have been reported in Tel Aviv, where a projectile hit a high-rise building.
The Times of Israel reported that Tel Aviv’s Savidor train station was damaged. Medical services said that two people were killed in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.
- 22:56 GMT
Iran confirmed on Tuesday evening that Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, was killed in US‑Israeli strikes.
Larijani was described as one of Iran’s most powerful politicians. He served as a senior adviser to slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
- 21:42 GMT
The attack hit an area adjacent to the Bushehr Power Plant’s meteorology department, near an operating reactor, the head of Russia’s nuclear giant Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev has said.
“Preparations are underway for the third evacuation of personnel from Bushehr,” he said, adding that none of the roughly 480 personnel from the Russian nuclear agency remaining on site were harmed.
The company has been the key contractor at the Iranian plant, currently constructing its second and third power units.
- 21:18 GMT
A US-Israeli attack struck the territory of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization reported.
“Fortunately, no human, financial, or technical damage has been reported,” it said.
“This action constitutes a clear violation of international laws and poses a serious threat to regional security.”
- 21:01 GMT
The conflict in Iran could cost the US trillions of dollars if Washington gets bogged down and hostilities drag on for months, The Intercept has reported.
A three-week conflict could cost US taxpayers somewhere between $60 billion and $130 billion, the outlet wrote, citing two anonymous officials. This cost could rise to a quarter of a trillion for an eight-week war, it added.
“These costs aren’t known to the American people. You’re never going to hear about them from the White House or the DoD,” the outlet quoted one official as saying. “My kids’ kids, and probably their kids, are going to be paying for this.”
Trump administration officials have admitted that Washington had spent around $12 billion dollars in the first week after the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran.
- 20:53 GMT
The US embassy compound in Baghdad has purportedly been struck by drones, according to multiple videos circulating on social media.
The facility has faced multiple attacks since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
- 20:21 GMT
US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which suffered a massive fire earlier this week, will leave the Red Sea for maintenance at the US base in Crete, the US Naval Institute News has reported.
The warship will undergo more than a week of pierside repairs at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, the outlet cited a senior US official as saying.
- 20:13 GMT
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz “won’t return to its pre-war status,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned.
Tehran has effectively blocked the key transit corridor, only allowing ships from countries it considers friendly to pass.
- 20:04 GMT
The Israeli military has detected ballistic missile launches towards Israel from Iran, the IDF has said, warning citizens to take shelter when instructed.
- 19:54 GMT
Israel’s strikes on residential buildings and civilian sites in Lebanon may constitute war crimes, the UN Human Rights office has said.
“In many instances, Israeli airstrikes have destroyed entire residential buildings in dense urban environments, with multiple members of the same family, including women and children, often killed together,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan said in a briefing on Tuesday.
“Such attacks raise serious concerns under international humanitarian law,” he added.
“Deliberately attacking civilians or civilian objects amounts to a war crime.”
The death toll from Israeli strikes has risen to 912 as of Tuesday, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported earlier.
