Iran launches retaliatory strikes on Israel and U.S. assets after security chief Larijani is killed

A smoke plume rise from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai on March 16, 2026.

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Iran intensified attacks against U.S. assets in the Middle East and Israel on Wednesday in apparent retaliation against the killing of the country’s security chief Ali Larijani overnight, as the weeks-long conflict shows no signs of abating.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly said Wednesday that its missiles have hit more than 100 military and security targets in the heart of Israeli territories as “revenge” for the killing of Larijani, his son and aide, citing Iranian semi-official Fars news agency.

The IRGC also said that it had launched a combined drone and missile attack in Tel Aviv and areas in central Israel. Two people were killed near Tel Aviv during an Iranian missile strike, Israeli emergency responders said early Wednesday.

Iran has also launched several explosive drones at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, triggering sirens with an explosion heard near the diplomatic compound, Reuters reported. Separately, Tehran also fired a projectile near an Australian airbase in the United Arab Emirates, according to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese — no personnel were injured.

The series of attacks comes after Israel killed Larijani, the head of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the leader of a powerful militia aligned with the IRGC, in deadly airstrikes on Tuesday.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has confirmed the death of Larijani, along with his son Morteza Larijani and the head of his office, Alireza Bayat, as well as several guards, the Associated Press reported.

The hostilities have continued to spread in the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, with no signs of de-escalation.

U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to ally with countries in recent days for military help to restore the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz that has been effectively closed by Iran and sent energy prices soaring. A fifth of the global oil transited through the strategic waterway before the conflict started.

Signaling further escalation, Tehran said that a projectile struck the premises of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant Tuesday evening, although no damage to the plant or injuries to staff were reported, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In direct target against the critical energy chokepoint, U.S. forces on Tuesday dropped 5,000-pound bombs on Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. military.

Saudi Arabia is expected to host a consultative meeting of foreign ministers from a number of Arab and Muslim countries in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing conflict in the region.

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