Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, ostensibly to get revenge for Israel’s liquidation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, security chief Ali Larijani, and other top Iranian officials.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite theocratic wing of the Iranian military and a designated terrorist organization, said the cluster of missiles fired at central Israel was an act of “revenge for the blood of martyr Dr. Ali Larijani and his companions.”
The IRGC said the “pure blood of this great martyr” would become “a source of honor, power, and national awakening against the front of global arrogance.”
Tehran held funerals on Wednesday for Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, chief of the thuggish Basij militia, who was killed by Israeli strikes on the same day.
“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 on the funerals for Larijani and Soleimani.
Israeli officials said the nighttime missile attack targeted a densely populated area near Tel Aviv and killed two people.
The IRGC said the attack included Khoramshahr-4 and Qadr missiles, which can be armed with multiple warheads. The victims were reportedly a couple in their 70s who were unable to reach their safe room before the Iranian missiles struck their home.
Israeli officials reported five injuries from shrapnel and damage to vehicles and buildings from the Iranian attack, including shrapnel damage to the Tel Aviv Savidor Central train station, located near Ben-Gurion Airport. The worst damage was reported in the city of Ramat Gan, east of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen said it was a “tough night” for his city.
“We are being hit with barrages, but this seems to be a deadly multi-launch barrage. I am at the central site, and it is a difficult scene. The picture is still unclear, the injuries are severe, and people have been hurt,” the mayor said.
“We are deeply saddened and are focused on managing the situation at all the sites in the city. I urge the public to follow the instructions and protect your lives,” he said.
Russia’s Rosatom energy company on Tuesday claimed the Bushehr nuclear reactor in western Iran, which Rosatom operates and supplies with uranium, was struck by an unidentified “projectile.” No injuries were reported, and there was no release of radiation from the reactor.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was aware of the incident, and called for “maximum restraint” by all parties to “prevent risk of a nuclear accident.”
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