US-Iran war: Israel says Iran’s intelligence minister killed as Australia set to condemn Iran’s Hormuz attacks

At least 8 people were killed in an airstrike on a courthouse complex in Iran’s Larestan County on Wednesday, according to Iran’s official judiciary news agency Mizan.

The head of the Fars province judiciary told Mizan that one lawyer, six clients and a member of the judicial staff were killed, but the agency reports the exact number of those killed and wounded is not yet known, AP reports.

Iran’s state media has reported that facilities associated with Iran’s huge offshore South Pars natural gas field came under attack on Wednesday,

Iranian state television reported on the attack targeting facilities at Asaluyeh in Iran’s southern Bushehr province.

They did not immediately elaborate.

South Pars is the world largest natural gas field, with both Qatar and Iran operating facilities on it, and has repeatedly been attacked during the war so far.

A funeral ceremony has been held in Tehran for top security official Ali Larijani and Basij forces chief Gholamreza Soleimani, who were killed in US-Israeli air strikes.

According to Press TV, the ceremony took place as officials and mourners gathered to honour the two figures.

Larijani and Soleimani were among the highest-ranking officials killed since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran last month.

Iran has launched a fresh wave of missiles towards Israel, according the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), BBC reports.

It says its air defences are working to intercept the attack, and has urged residents who have received an emergency alert to their phones to take shelter.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says it will attack crossings on the Litani River in southern Lebanon this afternoon, BBC reports.

“Hezbollah’s activities and the transfer of terrorist elements into southern Lebanon under the protection of the civilian population,” IDF spokesperson Avichai Adraee said in a statement on X.

Adraee said that the military will attack the crossings “to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and weapons” and ordered residents to “continue moving to the area north of the Zahrani River and refrain from any movement southward that could endanger your lives.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz made the announcement on Wednesday that Iran’s Intelligence Minister, Esmail Khatib, has been killed, AP reports.

The claim follows the killings of top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force.

“significant surprises are expected throughout this day on all the fronts,” Katz said, without elaborating.

There has been no comment from Iran yet.

According to AP, Iraq has resumed oil exports from fields in the city of Kirkuk via a pipeline to Ceyhan port in Turkey.

The Iraqi oil ministry claimed that the breakthrough came after the Iraqi government in Baghdad reached an agreement with the autonomous Kurdish administration north of the country.

The ministry said it initially will export 250,000 barrels per day of crude oil.

The war and the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz have severely impacted Iraq, whose economy depends overwhelmingly on oil.

The Nightly understands Australia will tonight co-sponsor a Declaration at an Emergency Session of the International Maritime Council condemning Iran’s attacks on seafarers and merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Declaration, drafted by the United Arab Emirates, demands that Iran immediately refrain from actions aimed at closing or obstructing the Strait, which have triggered severe global energy shocks, causing oil and fuel prices to surge.

Australia will join international partners in calling for coordinated measures to prioritise the safe passage of stranded seafarers.

“We are working with our partners to reinforce the importance of the safety and security of seafarers crossing the Strait of Hormuz,” a spokesperson for Catherine King said.

“This is just one of the measures our Government has taken since the beginning of the conflict to protect our fuel supply and defend our national interests.”

The death toll from Israel’s overnight strikes in Beirut has risen from six to 10, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

Citing the nation’s health ministry, it reports that the total number of wounded from the strikes has also risen from 24 to 27.

A funeral for Iranian security chief Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the paramilitary Basij force, will be held in Tehran today, BBC reports.

The ceremony, which is set to begin at 13:30 local time in Tehran’s Enghelab Square, is also being held for the 84 sailors killed when the US sank Iranian warship the Iris Dena with a torpedo on 4 March.

Iran announced on Tuesday that both Larijani and Soleimani had been killed in Israeli strikes, with Iranian army chief Amir Hatami threatening “decisive” retaliation following the deaths.