ISRAEL killed three senior Iranian officials in a series of airstrikes, escalating the ongoing conflict between the two nations. Iranian state media and officials confirmed the deaths of Ali Larijani, Esmail Khatib and Gholamreza Soleimani on March 17-18, 2026.
Among the dead was Larijani, a former nuclear negotiator and prominent political figure serving as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. The coordinated strikes also killed Khatib, the country’s minister of intelligence, and Soleimani, who had commanded the volunteer Basij Resistance Force paramilitary militia for the past seven years.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military had received broad authorization to eliminate senior Iranian officials without seeking case-by-case approval.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the assassinations as “cowardly,” declaring a period of national mourning and vowing retaliation.
State media broadcast images of large funeral processions in Tehran and other major cities, describing the strikes as the highest-profile killings of Iranian leaders since the war began.
The strikes follow Israel’s recent assertions that it will systematically pursue Iranian leaders to neutralize military threats, a strategy that has further strained diplomatic relations and heightened regional instability. / FROM THE WIRES