Iran launched strikes toward Israel and neighboring Gulf countries early Wednesday, with explosions heard in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and interceptions reported in Saudi Arabia.
The attacks came hours after Iranian state media confirmed Israel’s military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike, as well as Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force, known for its role in suppressing protests.
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An Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in Bachoura, central Beirut, completely flattening it as day broke. Two earlier strikes on residential apartments in other central Beirut neighborhoods early Wednesday killed at least six people and wounded 24 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Israeli strikes targeting central Beirut have become increasingly frequent in recent days, with or without prior warning. The attacks have hit far from the city’s southern suburbs, for which the army issued evacuation notices early in the war with Hezbollah.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has killed at least 1,300 people in Iran, more than 900 in Lebanon and 14 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The U.S. military says 13 U.S. service members have been killed and about 200 wounded.
Here is the latest:
Israeli strikes in central Beirut unsettle residents
Israeli strikes overnight against central Beirut have destroyed the illusion of safe areas in the capital, residents and first responders said.
In the renewed fighting with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Israel has concentrated most strikes where the group has a strong presence in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
But several attacks early Wednesday hit city center neighborhoods, some without warning.
“Today, Beirut is no different from the southern suburbs,” fire brigade Capt. Neshat Berri said in the Bachoura neighborhood, where emergency crews dug through rubble.
Near a building damaged by a strike in the Basta neighborhood, resident Hassan Jaber said there was “no safety.”
“We will continue to be exposed to this. Beirut is no different (from other areas),” he said. “May God protect us.”
Latest reports of live fire
An Associated Press journalist heard loud explosions Wednesday morning in Irbil city in the Kurdish region of nothern Iraq.
Israeli strikes kill 2 in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley
Israeli airstrikes Wednesday killed at least two people in Lebanon’s western Bekaa valley, Lebanon's health ministry said.
The strikes in the town of Sohmor also wounded at least six others, the ministry said.
Islamic and Arab foreign ministers will discuss regional security
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday will host a consultative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries as the Iran war shows no sign of abating.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the meeting in the capital Riyadh will include discussion of means to “support regional security and stability.”
Gulf Arab states have repeatedly come under fire from Iran, raising anger at Tehran, as well as the United States and Israel for launching the war.
Saudi forces destroy drone nearing diplomatic quarter
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry says its forces shot down a drone Wedneday morning as it approached the diplomatic quarter in the capital Riyadh, which houses the U.S. embassy and other foreign missions.
Latest reports of live fire
Missile alerts sounded in Dubai again Wednesday morning as the noise of interceptors exploding overhead boomed across the city-state. Dubai authorities said all the interceptions had been successful with no injuries.
Israel said it detected a new missile launch from Iran targeting it Wednesday morning.
Iran executes man it accused of spying for Mossad
Iran’s judiciary said Wednesday it executed a man it accused of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency identified the man as Kourosh Keyvani.
It alleged he “provided images and information on sensitive locations” to the Mossad. Keyvani was the first publicly announced execution for spying during the current war.
Iran, one of the world’s top executioners, long has killed people convicted of spying charges in closed-door hearings where they can’t fully contest the cases against them.
Activists and rights groups have warned since Iran’s nationwide protests in January that the Islamic Republic could begin conducting mass executions. Iran violently suppressed the protests through violence that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained.
In the aftermath of Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, international rights groups estimate as many as 5,000 people were executed.
No request from US to help keep Strait of Hormuz open, Australian minister says
A senior Australian government minister said he isn’t aware of any formal U.S. request for military support to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers was responding Wednesday to U.S. President Donald Trump’s complaint that Australia, Japan, South Korea and NATO had rejected his calls to help secure the strait from Iranian attack.
Asked if Australia had received any formal U.S. request for extra military support to keep the strait open, Chalmers told Australian Broadcasting Corp: “Not that I’m aware of.”
“It’s not something that we’ve been considering, in terms of sending battleships to the Strait of Hormuz,” Chalmers told Sky News television in another interview.