Iran-US war latest: Missiles shot down over Dubai after Tehran vows to avenge death of security chief Ali Larijani – UK Times

Iran’s stance ​against the development of nuclear weapons won’t significantly change, foreign minister Abbas Araqchi told ⁠Al Jazeera in remarks relayed by Iranian media on Wednesday, cautioning that the new supreme leader is ⁠yet to ​publicly ⁠express his view on the matter.

Former supreme leader Ayatollah ⁠Ali Khamenei, who was killed early ​in ⁠the US-Israeli ‌war against Iran, opposed the development of weapons of mass destruction in a fatwa, or religious edict, issued in the early 2000s.

Western countries, including the US and Israel, have for years accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons, while Iranian authorities have said their nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes.

Araqchi said fatwas depend on the Islamic jurist issuing them and added he was not yet in a position to judge the jurisprudential or political views of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader.

A projectile hit an area near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant ​last evening, but it caused ‌no damage or injuries, Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“The IAEA has been informed by Iran ​that a projectile hit the premises of ​the Bushehr NPP on Tuesday evening. No ⁠damage to the plant or injuries to ​staff reported,” the UN nuclear watchdog said ​on X.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi reiterated his ​call for maximum restraint during the conflict ​to avoid the risk of a nuclear accident.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation ‌confirmed ⁠the strike earlier in the day, with the country’s Tasnim news agency saying the projectile hit the vicinity of the nuclear power ​plant in ​the port ⁠city of Bushehr at around 7pm local time.

Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy ​corporation, condemned the strike, adding ​that ⁠radiation levels around the plant, whose construction was started by a German company in the ⁠1970s ​and later completed by Russia, ​were normal.

Israeli airstrikes in Beirut killed at least six people this morning, the Lebanese health ministry said, shaking the heart of the Lebanese capital as Israel intensified its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Israeli airstrikes pounded the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, where Reuters footage showed explosions lighting up the night sky.

While most Israeli strikes in the Beirut area have been on the southern suburbs, Israel has also launched a number of attacks in central areas of the capital since Lebanon was dragged into the war in the Middle East on 2 March.

An airstrike around 1.30am local time destroyed several floors of an apartment block in Beirut’s Zuqaq al-Blat district, while a strike in the nearby Basta district tore through at least two floors of a building.

Later, at around 5.30am local time, a more powerful strike destroyed an entire building in the Bachoura neighbourhood — an area close to downtown Beirut that was also targeted by Israel last week.

The UAE government said its air defences are responding to an incoming missile threat after Dubai residents reported hearing a loud bang.

The air defences are “currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran”, the defence ministry said.

The director of the National Counter terrorism Center, Joe Kent, announced his sudden resignation on Tuesday, citing his concerns about President Donald Trump’s strikes in Iran.

Kent, 45, said he “cannot in good conscience” back the administration’s war.

A former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, Kent was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote. As head of the National Counter terrorism Center, he oversaw an agency tasked with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.

His resignation reflects unease within Trump’s base about the war and shows that questions about the justification for the use of force in Iran extend to the right of Trump’s base and to senior members of his administration.

Iran targeted Tel Aviv with missiles carrying cluster warheads in what it said was retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani.

The attack overnight killed two people in a neighbourhood close to densely populated Tel Aviv, where there are also key military facilities, bringing the death toll in Israel from the war to at least 14.

A statement by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps read on state TV said weapons used included Khorramshahr 4 and Qadr missiles, both with multi-warheads.Israel has said that Iran has repeatedly used cluster warheads, which disperse into multiple smaller explosives mid-air and spread over a wide area, making them difficult to intercept.

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

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi reiterated his call for maximum restraint during the conflict to avoid the risk of a nuclear accident.

Iran has confirmed the death of top security chief Ali Larijani on Tuesday, state media reported.

Larijani becomes the most senior Iranian figure to be killed by Israel since the assassination of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war.

Tehran had earlier denied reports that Larijani was dead and a handwritten letter dedicated to Iranian troops was released after Israel claimed he had been killed in an IDF strike.

A tribute to Larijani was posted on his social media account on X, it said: “Indeed, a servant of Allah has joined his Lord as a martyr.”

A drone attack targeted ​the US embassy in Baghdad ‌and an explosion was heard in the area, security sources ​told Reuters this morning.

Security sources yesterday said that rocket and ​drone attacks had targeted the embassy, triggering sirens, with an explosion heard ​near the diplomatic compound.

At ​least three explosive drones also targeted ‌a ⁠US diplomatic facility near Baghdad International Airport yesterday, activating C-RAM air defence systems.

An Israeli airstrike hit Beirut’s Bachoura neighbourhood in the centre of the city this morning, with a loud explosion heard in the area after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate a building ahead of the strike.

The attack was part of a broader wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon, including raids on other parts of the Lebanese capital, as well as southern and eastern areas of the country, signalling an intensification of Israel’s campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Other Israeli strikes on Beirut killed at least six people and wounded 24 others, Lebanon’s health ministry said. In southern and eastern Lebanon, at least 14 people were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes, the state news agency reported, citing the health ministry.

The Israeli military said this morning that it had begun striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.The latest strikes draw Lebanon deeper into the war in the Middle East after Hezbollah attacked Israel on 2 March, saying it aimed to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader.