Iran launches missile strike on Tel Aviv; two reported dead

Iranian state TV said Tehran fired missiles with cluster warheads at Tel Aviv overnight in retaliation for the killing of security chief Ali Larijani, with at least two people reported dead in the city.

By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring

Iran targeted Tel Aviv with missiles carrying cluster warheads, Iranian state television reported, describing the attack as retaliation for what Tehran called Israel’s assassination of Ali Larijani, Iran’s security chief.

Israel has said Iran has repeatedly used cluster warheads, which disperse into multiple smaller explosives mid-air and spread over a wide area, making them hard to intercept.

The strike on densely populated Tel Aviv killed two people, bringing Israel’s death toll from the war to at least 14, according to initial reports.

In Iran, a projectile hit an area near the Bushehr nuclear power plant but caused no damage or injuries, Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Iranian government confirmed the killing of Larijani, the most senior figure targeted since the current conflict began. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which Larijani led as secretary, said his son and his deputy, Alireza Bayat, were also killed in an Israeli attack on Monday night.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has rejected proposals conveyed to Iran’s Foreign Ministry for reducing tensions or agreeing to a ceasefire with the United States, according to a senior Iranian official who asked not to be identified. The official said Khamenei was attending his first foreign policy meeting since his appointment and did not clarify whether he participated in person or remotely.

It is not the right time for peace until the United States and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat, and pay compensation. — Mojtaba Khamenei, according to a senior Iranian official

Israel and the United States have said preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapons program was among the goals of the attacks they launched more than two weeks ago, which killed senior Iranian officials.

US-based Iran human rights group HRANA said an estimated 3,000-plus people have been killed in Iran since the US-Israeli attacks began at the end of February.

More than 900 people have died since Israel began attacks on Lebanon on March 2, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

The Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for a fifth of the global oil trade, remains largely closed as Iran threatens to attack tankers linked to the United States and Israel, according to reports. Oil prices have surged.

Most US allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have told US President Donald Trump they do not want to get involved in the conflict, with the president describing their position as “a very foolish mistake.”

Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer “need,” or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! — US President Donald Trump, in a social media post

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in an interview that nobody was ready to risk lives to protect the strait.

We have to find diplomatic ways to keep this open so that we don’t have a food crisis, fertilizers crisis, energy crisis as well. — Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief

The United States has given shifting rationales for joining Israel in attacking Iran and has struggled to explain the legal basis for starting a new war, underscored by the resignation of the head of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joseph Kent.

Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. — Joseph Kent, in his resignation letter to President Donald Trump

The US military said it had targeted sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz because Iranian anti-ship missiles posed a risk to international shipping.

Oil prices rose about 3% yesterday as Iran renewed strikes on oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates, and are up around 45% since the war began on February 28, according to the report, raising concerns of a renewed spike in global inflation.

The World Food Programme said tens of millions of people will face acute hunger if the war continues through June.

Global airlines warned of hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs, higher fares and cuts to some routes as jet fuel prices soar. Flights have been cancelled, rescheduled or rerouted as much of Middle East airspace remains closed amid fears of missile and drone attacks.

Saudi Arabia will host a consultative meeting of foreign ministers from a number of Arab and Islamic countries in Riyadh this evening to discuss ways to support regional security and stability, the kingdom’s foreign ministry said.

Details were not immediately available on further casualties or damage from the latest exchanges.