Israel has killed Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, along with Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani, in a strike carried out overnight, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Katz confirmed.
Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), is one of Tehran’s most influential security figures. Iran has not yet commented on the reports.
Larijani was last seen in public during a Quds Day march in Tehran on Friday. The strike comes amid rising tensions across the region, including attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad by drones and rockets—the second such assault in recent days.
The United Arab Emirates temporarily closed its airspace in response to missile and drone threats from Iran but has since reopened it. In response to the volatile situation, British Airways has suspended certain flights to the Middle East until the end of May.
United States President Donald Trump has urged NATO allies and other nations to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil shipping route, citing the risk of disruption to international energy supplies.
Meanwhile, European leaders from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy warned that a large-scale Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon could trigger “devastating humanitarian consequences,” signaling deep concern over the potential for regional escalation.