{"id":352746,"date":"2026-03-18T15:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/352746\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T15:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:06:10","slug":"iran-attacks-israel-and-gulf-neighbours-as-israel-hits-beirut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/352746\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran attacks Israel and Gulf neighbours as Israel hits Beirut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran lashed out after the killing of one of its top leaders in an airstrike, with attacks on its Gulf neighbours and Israel on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

It used some of its latest missiles to evade air defences and killed two people near Tel Aviv as the war in the Middle East showed no signs of slowing.<\/p>\n

Israel kept up intense pressure on Lebanon with strikes it said targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, hitting multiple apartment buildings in Beirut and killing at least six people.<\/p>\n

In Iran, the Bushehr nuclear power plant complex was hit by a projectile but there were no injuries and the plant suffered no damage, the International Atomic Energy Agency said after receiving a report from Tehran.<\/p>\n

The IAEA\u2019s leader, Rafael Grossi, reiterated his call \u201cfor maximum restraint during the conflict to prevent risk of a nuclear accident\u201d.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s defence minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesday that the Israeli military had killed Iranian intelligence minister Esmail Khatib.<\/p>\n

Khatib\u2019s killing follows the killing by Israel of top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard\u2019s all-volunteer Basij force.<\/p>\n

Mr Katz said \u201csignificant surprises are expected throughout this day on all the fronts,\u201d without elaborating, in announcing Khatib\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n

\n\"visualization\"\/<\/p>\n

Meanwhile The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, remained stubbornly over 100 dollars per barrel in early trading on Wednesday, up more than 40% from the start of the war.<\/p>\n

Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran to start the war on February 28, Iran has been targeting the energy infrastructure of its Gulf Arab neighbours, as well as military bases, as part of a strategy to drive up oil prices and put pressure on Washington to back down.<\/p>\n

Iran has also shown no sign of relenting in its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil transits, giving rise to growing concerns of a global energy crisis.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s judiciary announced a man had been executed on charges that he spied for Israel\u2019s Mossad intelligence agency.<\/p>\n

\"MissilesMissiles launched from Iran streak across the sky over central Israel (Ohad Zwigenberg\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

The judiciary\u2019s Mizan news agency identified the man as Kourosh Keyvani and alleged that he \u201cprovided images and information on sensitive locations\u201d to Israel.<\/p>\n

Activists and rights groups have warned since Iran\u2019s nationwide protests in January that the Islamic Republic could begin conducting mass executions.<\/p>\n

Iran violently suppressed the protests through violence that killed thousands and left tens of thousands detained.<\/p>\n

The IAEA has been informed by Iran that a projectile hit the premises of the Bushehr NPP on Tuesday evening. No damage to the plant or injuries to staff reported. Director General @RafaelMGrossi<\/a> reiterates call for maximum restraint during the conflict to prevent risk of a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/fhze0vOqrQ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency \u269b\ufe0f (@iaeaorg) March 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

New attacks were reported in multiple Gulf countries early Wednesday, including on Saudi Arabia\u2019s vast Eastern Province, which is home to many of its oil fields, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a projectile caused a small fire at its base in the UAE near Dubai but caused no injuries.<\/p>\n

His comments appeared to correspond with explosions heard near Al Minhad Air Base, used by western nations as a transit hub for the wider Middle East.<\/p>\n

Missile alerts sounded again later in Dubai as the sound of interceptors exploding overhead boomed across the city-state.<\/p>\n

\"SmokeSmoke and flame rise from a residential building after an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut on Wednesday (Bilal Hussein\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile targeting the area of the Prince Sultan air base, which hosts American forces and aircraft, and a drone targeting Riyadh\u2019s diplomatic quarter, which houses the US embassy and other foreign missions.<\/p>\n

Iran has vowed to continue to throttle shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open sea.<\/p>\n

Since the conflict started, a few ships have got through with their cargos, some of which were Iranian, but also from India, Turkey and elsewhere, and Iran says that the waterway is open, just not to the US or many of its allies.<\/p>\n

US Central Command said the US military fired multiple 5,000lb deep penetrator bombs Tuesday on Iranian missile sites along Iran\u2019s coastline near the strait.<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump, who has been growing increasingly frustrated that no allies have stepped forward after he said he demanded others send ships to help open the strait again, posted on social media Tuesday that \u201cWE DON\u2019T NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!\u201d.<\/p>\n

Responding to Israel\u2019s killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council and one of the country\u2019s most powerful figures, the Republican Guard said on Wednesday it had targeted central Israel with multiple-warhead missiles, which have an increased chance of evading missile defence systems and can overwhelm radar tracking systems.<\/p>\n

Hours ago, U.S. forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran\u2019s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/hgCSFH0cqO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Israel reported at least two salvoes of incoming fire and the country\u2019s medical service said two people were killed in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the force launched the Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr multiple-warhead missiles to avenge Larijani\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n

Footage filmed by The Associated Press showed at least one missile releasing cluster munitions over Israel.<\/p>\n

Larijani, a former parliamentary speaker, was a senior policy adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

He was sanctioned by the US treasury in January for his role \u201cco-ordinating\u201d Iran\u2019s violent suppression of nationwide protests.<\/p>\n

General Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard\u2019s Basij militia, was also killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"ExplosionsExplosions erupt from a building after an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon (Hussein Malla\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

Soleimani was sanctioned by the US, the European Union and others over his role in suppressing dissent for years through the Basij.<\/p>\n

The US embassy in Baghdad also came under fire for the second day in a row early on Wednesday, two Iraqi security officials said.<\/p>\n

Further details were not immediately available, but pro-Iran militia groups have been regularly attacking American targets in Iraq since the start of the war. On Tuesday a drone cashed inside the Baghdad embassy compound.<\/p>\n

Israel flattened an apartment building in central Beirut about an hour after issuing an evacuation notice. It was the fourth time the building has been targeted, but three strikes last week failed to bring it down.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military claimed the building was being used by Hezbollah to store \u201cmillions of dollars intended to finance its activities\u201d, without providing evidence.<\/p>\n

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but other attacks on apartment buildings in central Beirut have killed at least six people and wounded 24 others, according to Lebanon\u2019s health ministry.<\/p>\n

The Israeli army also said it had begun a wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon \u201cin response to firing into Israeli territory\u201d.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s strikes have displaced more than one million Lebanese, roughly 20% of the population, according to the Lebanese government, which says more than 900 people have been killed.<\/p>\n

In Israel, 14 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 US military members have been killed.<\/p>\n

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the conflict started, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.<\/p>\n