Smoke billows from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai, March 16, 2026.
– | AFP | Getty Images
Iran on Wednesday stepped up attacks on U.S. assets in the Middle East and Israel in apparent retaliation for the overnight killing of the country’s security chief, Ali Larijani, as the weeks-long conflict shows no signs of abating.
Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday that its missiles had struck more than 100 military and security targets in the heart of Israeli territory in “retaliation” for the killing of Larijani’s son and close aide.
Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security confirmed the deaths of Larijani, his son Morteza Larijani, the head of his office, Alireza Bayat, and several security personnel, according to the Associated Press.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an Al Jazeera interview aired later in the day that the United States and Israel have not yet realized that the Iranian government does not depend on a single individual.
“The presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure,” he said.
The Revolutionary Guards launched a combined drone and missile attack in Tel Aviv and areas of central Israel. Israeli emergency response forces said early Wednesday that two people were killed in an Iranian missile attack near Tel Aviv.
Iran also launched several explosive drones at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, setting off explosions and sirens near the diplomatic complex, Reuters reported. Separately, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Iranian government also fired projectiles near an Australian Air Force base in the United Arab Emirates, but no personnel were present.
The series of attacks came after Israel killed Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, leader of a powerful militia aligned with the Revolutionary Guards, in a deadly airstrike on Tuesday.
Hostilities have continued to escalate in the Middle East since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, with no sign of tensions easing. According to Reuters, a thud was heard in Doha on Wednesday morning.
BMI, a research arm of Fitch Solutions, said a “troubling escalation” was likely given the intensification of military activity in the region. He also warned that the Iran-backed Houthi movement, a military group based in Yemen, could take action if Tehran’s offensive capabilities deteriorate and it wants to further increase pressure on the United States.
Such escalating moves by Iran would “prevent President Trump from declaring victory…and encourage the United States and its allies to continue their campaign aimed at overthrowing the regime and completely eliminating the threat posed by Iran,” the analysts said.
The attacks have expanded to target Iranian banks and financial infrastructure, a move that could spur protests and further instability in the country. Last week, American and Israeli forces reportedly attacked the digital security center of Sepah Bank, which has ties to the Iranian military. This followed a cyberattack that hit both Sepah Bank and Meri Bank the previous day.
US President Donald Trump has unsuccessfully sought in recent days to seek military aid from other countries to restart oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively blocked by Iran and where energy prices are soaring. Before the conflict began, one-fifth of the world’s oil passed through the strategic waterway.
Tehran said a projectile hit the grounds of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday night, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, but there were no reports of damage to the plant or injuries to staff.
Directly targeting a critical energy chokepoint, the US military on Tuesday dropped a 5,000-pound bomb on an Iranian missile base near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US military.
Saudi Arabia is scheduled to host a consultative meeting of foreign ministers from a number of Arab and Islamic countries in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss ongoing conflicts in the region.
