Rocket trails are seen in the sky amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya on March 18, 2026. AFP
Responding to Israel's killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and one of the country’s most powerful figures, the Republican Guard said Wednesday it had targeted central Israel with multiple-warhead missiles, which have an increased chance of evading missile defense systems and can overwhelm radar tracking systems.
Israel reported at least two salvoes of incoming fire and the country's medical service said two people were killed in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv.
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the force launched the Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr multiple-warhead missiles to avenge Larijani’s killing. Footage filmed by The Associated Press showed at least one missile releasing cluster munitions over Israel.
Larijani, a former parliamentary speaker, was a senior policy adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration.
Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij militia, was also killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday.
Iran also continued its missile and drone attacks toward Gulf countries on Wednesday, attacking Saudi Arabia's vast Eastern Province, home to many of its oil fields, as well as Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a projectile caused a small fire at its base in the UAE near Dubai but caused no injuries. Explosions were heard near Al Minhad Air Base, used by Western nations as a transit hub for the wider Mideast.
Missile alerts sounded again later in Dubai as interceptors exploded overhead across the city-state.
Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile targeting the area of the Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts American forces and aircraft, and two drones targeting Riyadh's diplomatic quarter, which houses the U.S. Embassy and other foreign missions.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad also came under fire for the second day in a row early Wednesday, two Iraqi security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.
Pro-Iran militia groups have been regularly attacking American targets in Iraq since the war started. On Tuesday, a drone cashed inside the embassy compound in Baghdad.
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