Killing of Larijani complicates Iran's decision-making, shrinks its options
killing of Iran's most influential powerbroker, Ali Larijani, has pushed the Islamic Republic into a more uncertain phase, complicating decision-making in Tehran and narrowing its options as the war grinds on, Reuters reported.
The U.S.-Israeli war, opens new tab on Iran began with the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei alongside a group of military commanders, and shows no sign of abating, with several more senior officials now targeted by air ‌strikes.
The deeper challenge for Tehran is increasingly structural. A system built for endurance is being tested by attrition. As experienced officials are picked off in targeted killings, the pool of figures capable of managing both war and statecraft is shrinking, according to Reuters.
First Iranian attack to kill Palestinians hits West Bank, three women dead
Three Palestinian women were killed in an Iranian missile attack in the occupied West Bank late on ‌Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, in the first deadly Iranian strike there, and the first to kill Palestinians, since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Reuters reported.
The missile struck a hair salon in the town of Beit Awwa, southwest of Hebron, the Palestinian Authority's official news agency WAFA reported. Thirteen were wounded, one of them seriously.
The Israeli military said it understood the strike was caused by a cluster munition, a warhead that splits into tiny bomblets that scatter into a disparate area, according to Reuters.
Iran blames Israel for gas field attack, fires missiles at Qatar and Saudi energy facilities
Iran accused Israel of striking its facilities in the huge South Pars gas field on Wednesday in a major escalation in the U.S.-Israeli war that sent oil prices shooting higher, and retaliated by vowing attacks on oil and gas targets throughout the Gulf, firing missiles at Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.
Qatar's state oil giant QatarEnergy reported "extensive damage" after the Ras Laffan Industrial City, an energy-industry hub, was hit by Iranian missiles. Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh on Wednesday and an attempted drone attack on a gas facility in the east of the country.
South Pars is the Iranian sector of the world's largest natural gas deposit, which Iran shares with Qatar, a close U.S. ally, across the Gulf. Qatar's foreign ministry rebuked Israel for a "dangerous and irresponsible" attack on Iran's South Pars facilities, and denounced Iran for what it called "a flagrant breach" of international law, expelling two senior Iranian diplomats, according to Reuters.
US intelligence chief says Iran's regime 'intact' but 'degraded'
The top intelligence official in the US said on Wednesday that the Iranian regime was "intact" but "largely degraded".
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and other top Trump administration officials testified at a congressional hearing for more than two hours about worldwide threats to the US, BBC reported.
It was the first public briefing on intelligence since the war began in late February and came one day after a top counterterrorism leader resigned saying Iran had not posed an imminent threat to the US.
