In a statement, Katz said: \u201cLarijani and the Basij commander were eliminated last night and have joined Khamenei, the head of the annihilation program, along with all those eliminated from the axis of evil in the depths of hell.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, some Iranian media outlets are reporting that Larijani will be publishing a message shortly. There has been no official confirmation from Iran<\/a>. We have not been able to independently verify the reporting and will give you more details as we have them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.05 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n A tanker anchored off the eastern coat of the UAE was hit by debris this morning as the Gulf country came under several waves of Iranian attacks.<\/p>\n The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre reported the incident, saying the vessel was in the Gulf of Oman off Fujairah. It said the tanker sustained \u201cminor structural damage\u201d, adding that nobody was injured.<\/p>\n The UKMTO later said it appeared falling debris from an interception hit the tanker, rather than the tanker being targeted itself.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images coming out of the Lebanese capital of Beirut following Israeli airstrikes:<\/p>\n Firefighters extinguish a fire that swept through the site of an Israeli airstrike targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, in the al-Kafaat neighbourhood, on 17 March 2026. Photograph: AFP\/Getty ImagesSmoke rises after an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on 17 March 2026. Photograph: Mahmoud Hassano\/ReutersPeople leave their homes after an Israeli airstrike targeted an apartment in a building in a neighbourhood in the village of Aramoun, Lebanon, on 17 March 2026. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n A Pakistani national was killed by falling debris in Abu Dhabi after the interception of an incoming missile, Pakistan\u2019s embassy said. It was the third announced death of a Pakistan national so far in the UAE since the start of the war.<\/p>\n The UAE\u2019s defence ministry said early this morning that it was responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran<\/a>. Since the start of the war, the UAE says Iran, which claims its strikes are targeting US assets in Gulf states, has launched over 1,600 drones and 300 missiles.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Profile: Who is Ali Larijani? Ali Larijani had been seen as one of the more pragmatic faces of Iran\u2019s establishment<\/a> \u2013 who helped steer nuclear negotiations with the west \u2013 but that image later hardened.<\/p>\n Hours after US and Israeli strikes killed the former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei<\/a>, Larijani delivered a defiant message, warning that Iran would make its enemies \u201cregret\u201d their actions and promising a forceful response.<\/p>\n An Israeli official said a strike on Larijani had originally been planned for the previous night but was postponed at the last minute.<\/p>\n Intelligence received on Monday afternoon indicated that Larijani was due to arrive at one of several apartments he used as a hideout, the official said. He was reportedly there with his son when the strike was carried out.<\/p>\n When news he had been targeted began to circulate early on Tuesday, with his fate remaining unclear, another senior Israeli official said \u201cthere was no chance he survived this attack\u201d.<\/p>\n Ali Larijani (pictured) was a close ally of the former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war by US-Israeli airstrikes. Photograph: Vahid Salemi\/AP<\/p>\n Born in Najaf, Iraq, in 1958 he studied in Tehran and after the Islamic revolution rose through the ranks of the state, serving as culture minister, head of state broadcasting and, for more than a decade, as speaker of parliament.<\/p>\n As chief nuclear negotiator, he played a key role in shaping Iran\u2019s engagement with world powers, later backing the 2015 nuclear deal.<\/p>\n Though often regarded as a pragmatist within the system, his stance had hardened in recent months, as tensions with Israel and the US escalated and diplomatic efforts faltered. Reappointed in 2025 as secretary of the supreme national security council, he emerged as a central figure in Tehran\u2019s wartime leadership.<\/p>\n The US had offered a reward of up to $10m for information on senior Iranian military and intelligence officials, including Larijani, as part of a list of 10 figures linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. You can read more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Handwritten note posted on Iranian security chief’s X account after Israel claimed to have killed him in airstrike<\/p>\n A handwritten note commemorating Iranian sailors was posted on Ali Larijani\u2019s X account<\/a> shortly after Israel said it had killed the Iranian security chief in an overnight airstrike. It is not clear when the message was written or who posted it. The message, in reference to the Iranian sailors killed in a US submarine attack<\/a> on the Iris Dena earlier this month, reads:<\/p>\n double quotation markOn the occasion of the funeral ceremony for the valiant martyrs of the Islamic Republic of Iran\u2019s Navy: Their memory will forever remain in the heart of the Iranian nation, and these martyrdoms will strengthen the foundation of the Islamic Republic\u2019s Army for years to come within the structure of the armed forces. I beseech the Almighty God for the highest ranks for these dear martyrs.<\/p>\n Larijani had been seen in public last Friday taking part in Quds Day rallies. Iranian authorities have not officially confirmed his death. After reports of his assassination surfaced in the Israeli media earlier today, Iranian media outlets reported that Larijani would be publishing a message shortly.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.12 EDT<\/p>\n We can bring you more comments from the Israeli defence minister, Israel<\/a> Katz, who said a short while ago that overnight airstrikes killed Iran\u2019s security chief Ali Larijani.<\/p>\n \u201cThe prime minister and I have instructed the IDF to continue hunting down the leadership of the regime of terror and oppression in Iran,\u201d Katz said in a statement quoted by BBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cUS President Trump spoke about the high rate of turnover of Iran\u2019s leadership \u2026 we will update him that the high rate of turnover continues and is even increasing following the assassination of two of the most senior remaining leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.37 EDT<\/p>\n Heavy loss of life in Iran is ‘alarming’, ICRC says, with families ‘gathering for funerals instead of festivities’<\/p>\n In a statement, the International Committee of the Red Cross\u2019s head of delegation in Iran, Vincent Cassard, spoke about the devastating humanitarian costs of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Cassard said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI am seeing the heavy strain that the recent escalation of hostilities has placed on people in Iran, who fear for their lives, the safety of their loved ones and their livelihoods. The heavy loss of life is alarming. Civilian infrastructure has been affected, and many homes have been severely damaged by the hostilities. Daily life in Tehran has been profoundly disrupted: children are not attending school, and many businesses have temporarily closed as a precaution due to the ongoing strikes. <\/p>\n Normally, this is a time when cities across Iran are filled with excitement as families prepare for Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. This year, however, families are gathering for funerals instead of festivities. <\/p>\n The images that we have seen from schools, hospitals and impacted Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) facilities exemplify the heavy price that civilians are paying as a result of hostilities. International humanitarian law is clear: Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be spared from attack. Medical workers and first responders, as well as medical transport and facilities and humanitarian personnel must be respected and protected.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Children are among the hardest hit by the Israeli war on Lebanon<\/a>, with about 290,000 children displaced from their home, according to Unicef.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are having explosions, airstrikes on a daily basis from morning to evening. So these children while fleeing in fear and panic heard these explosions. We are extremely worried for them,\u201d Christophe Boulierac, chief of advocacy and communication at Unicef Lebanon, said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe provided water, we provided sleeping bags, we provided hygiene kits, especially for young women,\u201d he said, but warned that lives have been upended on a massive scale with the displacement worsening, amid continued Israeli airstrikes.<\/p>\n A woman with a child washes clothes outside a tent at a school turned into a shelter for displaced families in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Khalil Ashawi\/Reuters<\/p>\n Boulierac said many of those displaced are staying at friend\u2019s houses while others are in one of the 600 emergency temporary shelters opened by the Lebanese government.<\/p>\n He said he heard of an instance of 14 people living in one room in Beirut, where many people have fled to. Lebanese authorities said more than one million people have registered as displaced since the devastating US-Israeli assault began on 2 March.<\/p>\n Sources have told Al Jazeera<\/a> that certain centres set up by Lebanon\u2019s ministry of education are only accepting displaced Lebanese people, with others such as Syrian refugees, foreign domestic workers and Palestinian people having to find alternatives.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.49 EDT<\/p>\n Israeli defence minister claims country’s forces have killed Iranian security chief<\/p>\n The Reuters news agency is reporting that Israel\u2019s defence minister, Israel Katz, has said Iran\u2019s security chief Ali Larijani had been killed in an Israeli airstrike overnight (see post at 08.56<\/a> for more details).<\/p>\n In a statement, Katz said: \u201cLarijani and the Basij commander were eliminated last night and have joined Khamenei, the head of the annihilation program, along with all those eliminated from the axis of evil in the depths of hell.\u201d<\/p>\n However, some Iranian media outlets are reporting that Larijani will be publishing a message shortly. There has been no official confirmation from Iran<\/a>. We have not been able to independently verify the reporting and will give you more details as we have them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.05 EDT<\/p>\n Israel says it has assassinated commander of Iran\u2019s Basij militia unit<\/p>\n The IDF said it has killed the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards\u2019 all-volunteer Basij force.<\/p>\n![\"Lorenzo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lorenzo_Tondo.jpg\")
Lorenzo Tondo<\/p>\n