Dubai, March 17 : Israel announced Tuesday it eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, head of Iran’s Basij militia—used to crush domestic protests—as Gulf states braced for renewed Iranian missile and drone barrages.
The Israeli military described the Monday strike as targeting a key arm of Iran’s “terror regime,” sanctioned globally for violent crackdowns on civilians. This follows Israel’s killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other commanders since war erupted February 28.
Israel launched fresh “wide-scale” airstrikes on Tehran—hitting command centers, missile sites, and defenses—while intensifying attacks on Hezbollah in Beirut and southern Lebanon, where two Lebanese soldiers were wounded. Over 1,300 have died in Iran; Lebanon reports 850 killed and 1 million displaced.
Iran hit back with salvos at Tel Aviv and northern Israel, plus strikes on UAE’s Fujairah oil facilities and a tanker off its coast. A man died from missile debris over Abu Dhabi—the eighth UAE fatality. Dubai briefly closed airspace; Qatar and Saudi Arabia downed drones and missiles targeting infrastructure.
Iraq saw proxy attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad—all drones intercepted—and a Baghdad presidential site. Iran’s parliamentary speaker defended strait pressure, where a fifth of global oil flows; Brent crude topped $100/barrel, up 40%.
President Trump urged allies to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open amid fears of energy crisis, food shortages, and economic turmoil, as few ships—mostly Iranian, Indian, Turkish—now pass.
