2 killed as Iran hits Tel Aviv over killing of security chief

By John Ogunsemore

An Iranian missile barrage struck a suburb of Tel Aviv early Wednesday, killing two civilians in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Iran’s top security official the day before, officials from both sides said.

A man and a woman in their 70s died from shrapnel injuries after an Iranian missile hit a residential building in Ramat Gan, just east of Tel Aviv, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service confirmed.

The couple failed to reach their safe room in time after air-raid sirens sounded.

Falling debris also damaged a Tel Aviv-area train station, disrupting rail services, and injured several others.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attack used multiple-warhead cluster missiles and was launched “in revenge for the blood of martyr Dr. Ali Larijani and his companions,” Iranian state media reported.

Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and one of the country’s most powerful remaining figures, was killed along with Basij force commander, Gen. Gholamreza Soleimani in Israeli airstrikes overnight Tuesday.

Iran confirmed both deaths through state media.

Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz announced that the military had “eliminated” both men in the targeted operation inside Iran.

The killings marked the highest-profile assassinations since joint US-Israeli strikes eliminated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, the first day of the current war.

Iranian officials vowed further retaliation.

The country’s army chief threatened a “decisive and regrettable” response, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the conflict’s global effects “will hit all.”

Iran also reported a projectile striking near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, though no damage or injuries occurred there.

Israeli air defences intercepted many of the incoming missiles, but at least one barrage reached central Israel, triggering explosions and sirens across the Tel Aviv region and areas near the Sea of Galilee.

The deaths raised Israel’s toll from Iranian strikes since late last month to at least 14.

The exchange is the latest escalation in the three-week-old war involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

Iran has also fired missiles and drones at US assets and Gulf Arab states in recent days.

Funerals for Larijani and Soleimani were scheduled for Wednesday in Iran.