Israel says Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani killed in Tehran strike

Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, was killed in an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital on Monday night, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday.

Larijani, one of the regime's most influential leaders, was the secretary of the National Security Council, Iran’s top decision-making body on defense and foreign policy. He also served as a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike in Tehran on Feb. 28.

There was no confirmation from Iran. 

The Israeli military said earlier on Tuesday that it had also killed Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force, in another overnight strike in Tehran, along with 10 senior officials from the unit.

The United Arab Emirates said it temporarily closed its airspace Tuesday as it was “responding to missile and drone threats from Iran.” Meanwhile, a tanker off the Emirati city of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman reportedly came under Iranian attack. 

As Iran continues to enforce a de facto closure of the critical Strait of Hormuz, the price of Brent crude reached $104 Tuesday, marking a 40% increase since the war started. 

Several European nations have ruled out deploying warships to the strait after US President Donald Trump warned on Monday that NATO’s future could be at risk if allies do not assist in reopening the key waterway.

As Israel continues to pummel Lebanon, the Lebanese military said on Tuesday that a soldier succumbed to injuries sustained during an Israeli drone attack in south Lebanon earlier in the day.