Iran vowed on Wednesday a “decisive” retaliation for the death of its security chief Ali Larijani, firing off a wave of missiles at Israel which said it killed him in an air strike.
A barrage of Iranian missiles killed two people near Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv, while Gulf nations intercepted rockets and drones headed for targets including US bases in the region.
Iran will hold funerals on Wednesday for Larijani and another powerful figure killed Tuesday by Israel, Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij paramilitary force, according to the Fars and Tasnim news agencies.
Larijani is the most prominent figure of the Islamic republic killed since Israel and the United States launched their attacks on Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and igniting a war in the Middle East.
“Iran’s response to the assassination of the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council will be decisive and regrettable,” Iranian army chief Amir Hatami said in a statement.
Besides sending missiles and drones into Israel and Gulf nations, Iran has sought to extract a heavy toll on the global economy, including by driving up the cost of oil by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for crude.
With oil still hovering around $100 a barrel, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Wednesday that the global repercussions of the war “has only just begun and will hit all”.
As part of an effort to reopen Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world’s crude transits, the US military said it brought out some of the heaviest bombs in its arsenal to penetrate adjacent missile sites.
The United States dropped several 5,000-pound (2,250 kg) bombs – estimated to cost $288,000 each – on “hardened Iranian missile sites” near the coast that posed a threat to international shipping, Central Command said.
