DUBAI: Israel's defence minister said Tuesday that the military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike. The military also announced it killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force.
Iranian state media did not immediately confirm either death.
Also on Tuesday, a drone attack in the United Arab Emirates sparked a fire at an oil tank farm in Fujairah, an emirate on the country's east coast with the Gulf of Oman that has been repeatedly targeted, the state-run WAM news agency reported. It said no one was injured in the blast.
The Israeli military also said Tuesday it had launched new attacks across Tehran and Beirut, with the strikes on the Lebanese capital targeting Hezbollah militants.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump said “numerous countries” have told him “they're on the way” to help police the Strait of Hormuz. But he also suggested some countries' reluctance showed a lack of reciprocity in defense agreements with the United States.
The war has killed at least 1,300 people in Iran, at least 850 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The US military says 13 US service members have been killed and about 200 wounded.
An Associated Press journalist in Qatar heard air defences targeting incoming fire in Doha, the country's capital, on Tuesday afternoon.
The United Arab Emirates says its air defences responded to 10 ballistic missiles and 45 drones Iran fired Tuesday at the Gulf county.
Israel's military said it began new airstrikes Tuesday targeting Iran's capital, Tehran.
A tanker anchored off the eastern coat of the United Arab Emirates was hit by debris early Tuesday morning as the nation came under several waves of Iranian attacks.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, run by the British military, reported the incident, saying the vessel was in the Gulf of Oman off Fujairah. It said the tanker sustained “minor structural damage” and no one was hurt.
The UKMTO later said it appeared falling debris from an interception hit the tanker, rather than the tanker being targeted itself.
Since the Iran war started, some 20 vessels in the region have come under attack as the Iranian fire effectively halts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 per cent of all oil and natural gas trade passes.
Israel's military warned of a new barrage of missile fire from Iran on Tuesday, with air defences firing and explosions heard.
Albania's Parliament adopted a resolution Tuesday declaring Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation, with 79 lawmakers from Prime Minister Edi Rama's Socialist Party voting in favour of the measure.
The resolution also labels Iran a state sponsor of terrorism.
Taulant Balla, head of the Socialist parliamentary group, said the resolution aims to denounce state support for terrorism, the use of proxy groups for destabilisation and hybrid tactics including cyberattacks on sovereign institutions.
“For Albania, this is not just a distant geopolitical issue,” Balla said, noting it has been a target of cyberattacks.
Albania blamed Iran's Foreign Ministry for a July 2022 cyberattack that disrupted government information technology systems and shut down online public services for several days.
Officials said the attack was likely retaliation for Albania hosting members of an Iranian opposition group. Albania's government then severed diplomatic ties with Iran.
The Red Cross says civilians in Iran are paying “a heavy price” as the US and Israel war against the Islamic Republic shows no sign of abating.
Vincent Cassard, head of the Red Cross delegation in Iran, said the war has placed “heavy strain” on Iranians.
“The heavy loss of life is alarming,” he said. “Daily life in Tehran has been profoundly disrupted.”
He said damaged schools and hospitals, as well as facilities of the Iranian Red Crescent, show “the heavy price that civilians are paying as a result of hostilities.”
Israel says it killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force, in a combat tent alongside other Basij commanders.
They were using the tent as makeshift headquarters due to concerns their regular bases could be targeted, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines.
Two Palestinians were killed Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The strike hit a vehicle in the Muwasi, a tent camp area west of the southern city of Khan Younis, the Red Crescent said in a statement.
Twelve others were wounded in the strike and taken to a hospital run by the Red Crescent in Khan Younis, it said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Two medics were injured when shrapnel fell on an ambulance centre in Kuwait during an attack on the Gulf nation, authorities said.
The Health Ministry said the injured were taken to a hospital and they are in stable condition.
The killing of Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani comes on the eve of “Chaharshanbe Souri,” or the Festival of Fire in Iran on Tuesday night.
The festival comes in the hours just before the Wednesday before Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year.
To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating off into the night sky. Others jump over and around fires, chanting “My yellow is yours, your red is mine,” invoking the replacement of ills with warmth and energy.
Authorities already have sent threatening text messages to the public, urging them not to take part in the festival, worried it could lead to renewed protests against the theocracy as it faces likely the greatest challenge to its survival since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who had drawn people into the streets during nationwide protests in January, issued a warning Monday saying Iranian authorities “issued threats of deadly force to suppress these peaceful celebrations and prevent the Iranian people from honouring their heritage.”
He earlier urged demonstrations in front of Iranian embassies abroad on Tuesday.