LIVE: Iranian Intelligence Minister Khatib Killed: Israel
U.S. Central Command said the strikes targeted Iranian anti-ship cruise missile facilities that posed a risk to international shipping passing through the strategic waterway.
Tehran: Israel’s defense minister said on Wednesday that the Israeli military killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib.
Israel Katz announced Khatib’s killing and said that “significant surprises are expected throughout this day on all the fronts,” without elaborating.
Khatib’s killing follows Israel killing top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force.
What to know:
- India has sent its first consignment of medical assistance to Iran as the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States entered its 19th day on Wednesday. Read more here.
- About 90 ships including oil tankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since the outset of the war with Iran and it is still exporting millions of barrels of oil at a time when the waterway has been effectively closed, according to maritime and trade data platforms. Read more here.
- A top security official in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration resigned over the war in Iran on Tuesday, saying the country had posed no imminent threat to the United States. Joe Kent, who headed the National Counterterrorism Center, is the first senior official in Trump's administration to resign over the conflict, now in its third week. Read more here.
- Israel's military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike , and Iranian state media confirmed the military also killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani as he met in a combat tent with commanders of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force . Both men were key to Iran’s violent crackdown on protests in January. Read more here.
- The United States said it pounded Iranian missile sites near the key Strait of Hormuz as the Islamic republic fired missiles Wednesday around the region, vowing to avenge the killing of its powerful security chief.
Live Updates
- 18 March 2026 3:59 PM IST
Israel's defense minister says that Israel has killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib
- 18 March 2026 3:58 PM IST
Al-Manar TV journalist killed in airstrike
A journalist with Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV was killed in an Israeli airstrike Wednesday, the station said.
Al-Manar said Mohammed Sherri, the head of its political program, was killed along with his wife during a strike on central Beirut’s Zokak Blatt neighborhood.
His children and grandchildren were wounded in the attack, Al-Manar said.
- 18 March 2026 3:30 PM IST
Iraq says it resumed exports of Kirkuk oil via Turkey
Iraq said Wednesday it resumed oil exports from fields in the city of Kirkuk via a pipeline to Ceyhan port in Turkey.
The breakthrough came after the Iraqi government in Baghdad reached an agreement with the autonomous Kurdish administration north of the country, the Iraqi oil ministry said.
The ministry said it initially will export 250,000 barrels per day of crude oil.
- 18 March 2026 3:07 PM IST
Russia says no damage or injuries from strike on Iran’s nuclear power plant
Alexei Likhachev, the chief of Russia’s nuclear corporation Rosatom said on Wednesday the strike a day earlier was near the metrology service building close to the reactor.
He said there was no increase in radiation levels.
- 18 March 2026 2:54 PM IST
Israel suspends UNICEF shipments from Egypt to Gaza
Israel says it has suspended UNICEF aid shipments to Gaza from Egypt after an attempt to smuggle tobacco and nicotine products to the enclave. COGAT, Israel’s military body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said it found the products while inspecting a UNICEF aid shipment Tuesday at the Kerem Shalom crossing. UNICEF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- 18 March 2026 2:45 PM IST
Lebanon says central Beirut airstrikes kill 10 people
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli airstrikes on central Beirut killed 10 people. The ministry said Wednesday that airstrikes on the capital since midnight also have wounded 27.
- 18 March 2026 1:47 PM IST
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India says, "The first shipment of medical aid from the esteemed people of India has been delivered to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. We sincerely thank the kind people of India."
- 18 March 2026 1:43 PM IST
Indian-flagged tanker Jag Laadki reaches Mundra amid West Asia tensions
The Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, Jag Laadki, has successfully arrived at Adani Ports Mundra in Gujarat, marking a significant addition to the nation's energy imports.The vessel reached the port carrying approximately 80,886 metric tonnes (MT) of crude oil. The cargo was sourced from the UAE and was loaded at Fujairah Port.Measuring 274.19 metres in length overall with a beam of 50.04 metres, the tanker boasts a deadweight tonnage of approximately 164,716 tonnes and a gross tonnage of about 84,735 tonnes. - 18 March 2026 1:04 PM IST
Saudi ministry says second drone intercepted over Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry says its forces shot down a second drone Wednesday over the capital Riyadh. The drone was approaching the city’s diplomatic quarter, where the U.S. Embassy and other foreign missions are located.
- 18 March 2026 1:03 PM IST
Four explosions heard in Iraq's Erbil
At least four explosions were heard on Wednesday in the city of Erbil in the autonomous Kurdistan region, AFP journalists reported.
It was not immediately clear what the target was. From a suburb of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, AFP journalists saw interceptions of projectiles over the city, which is home to a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses US-led coalition troops.
