Israel says it killed 2 top Iranian officials in wartime blow to country’s leadership

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow to the Islamic Republic’s leadership as it faces its greatest test in decades, and Iran responded Wednesday with renewed missile and drone attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was considered one of the most powerful figures in the country since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war. Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani was the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij.

Iran confirmed the killings of both men, who were key to Iran’s violent crackdown on protests in January that challenged the theocracy’s 47-year rule.

Iran launched a barrage of missiles toward Israel on Wednesday as sirens sounded across central Israel and loud booms were heard in Tel Aviv. Israel’s medical service, Magen David Adom, said two people were killed in Ramat Gan, a district east of Tel Aviv.

With concerns growing about a global energy crisis, an Iranian official said Tehran had no intention of relinquishing its tight grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil.

Israel says killings are to undermine Iranian regime

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that Larijani and Soleimani “were eliminated” in strikes overnight. The Israeli military said it also struck more than 10 Basij posts across Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killings were aimed at “undermining this regime to give the Iranian people the opportunity to remove it.” There have been no signs of anti-government protests since the war began, as many Iranians are sheltering from the American and Israeli strikes.

The Iranian judiciary’s news agency, Mizan, quoted the Revolutionary Guard as confirming the killing of Soleimani. Other Iranian state media confirmed Larijani’s death.

Larijani, a former parliamentary speaker, was a senior policy adviser to the late Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration. He was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in January for his role “coordinating” Iran’s violent suppression of nationwide protests.

Soleimani was also sanctioned by the U.S., the European Union and other nations, over his role in suppressing dissent for years through the Basij.

The killings of the top officials came on the eve of “Chaharshanbe Souri,” or the Festival of Fire, shortly before the Persian new year. Authorities have sent threatening text messages telling the public not to turn out for the festival, warning the celebrations could be used by “rioters.”

State media aired footage Tuesday of pro-government demonstrations, including images of men in plainclothes brandishing assault rifles and shotguns on the back of motorcycles.

State television showed crowds of women wrapped in black and older men waving flags and portraits of the late Khamenei.

Iranian strikes pressure neighbours and oil markets

In Iraq, two drones were shot down by the U.S. Embassy’s defense system in Baghdad, while a third drone crashed inside the compound, according to two Iraqi security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

An Associated Press journalist in the area saw a massive fire that appeared to be engulfing a structure in the compound. There was no immediate comment from the embassy.

In the United Arab Emirates, an oil facility in Fujairah was hit, and a man was killed in Abu Dhabi by debris from an intercepted missile -- the eighth person to die in the UAE since the start of the war, authorities said.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones, while air defences could be heard targeting incoming fire over Qatar’s capital, Doha.

Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, has sparked increasing concerns about a tightening of energy supplies that is unnerving the world economy.

A handful of ships have crossed through the strait, and Iran has said the vital waterway technically remains open -- just not for the United States, Israel and their allies. About 20 vessels have been struck since the war began.

With oil prices rising, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had demanded that roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to ensure ships can pass through the strait.. But his appeals brought no immediate commitments, with many saying they are hesitant to get involved in a war with no defined exit plan.

Trump fumed Tuesday that the U.S. is not getting support “despite the fact that almost every country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot” be allowed to secure a nuclear weapon.

The European Union’s top diplomat says the 27-nation bloc does not want to be dragged into the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. “This is not Europe’s war,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told EU lawmakers on Tuesday. “We were not consulted.”

French President Emmanuel Macron earlier reaffirmed that France is ready to help secure the strait, but only after heavy bombing has stopped.

Israel launches new attacks on Tehran and steps up strikes on Beirut

The Israeli military said it hit Iran command centers, missile launch sites and air defense systems. There was no immediate confirmation from Iran, where little information has been coming out due to internet outages, round-the-clock airstrikes and tight restrictions on journalists.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the conflict started Feb. 28, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

The Lebanese army said that three soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes. The Lebanese Health Ministry said that an airstrike near Beirut’s international airport killed one person and wounded nine, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Israel’s strikes have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese -- roughly 20% of the population -- according to the Lebanese government, which says 912 people have been killed. In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.

Top U.S. counterterrorism official quits over Iran war

A top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned Tuesday, citing concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran. Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war.

His resignation reflects unease about the war within Trump’s political base just as midterm election races start to heat up. Trump’s MAGA coalition is splintering over what it sees as the president’s failure to keep his “America First” campaign promise by leading the U.S. into a war that is driving up gas prices.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that he always thought Kent -- the president’s pick to lead the counterterrorism center -- was “weak on security” and that if someone in his government did not believe Iran was a threat, “we don’t want those people.”

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Jon Gambrell, David Rising and Samy Magdy, The Associated Press

Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami, Florida; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.