IRGC confirms death of Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani in 'attack by American-Zionist enemy'

Says the 'cowardly assassination reflects the importance and role of the Basij' in fight against US, Israel

The commander of Iran’s paramilitary Basij force, Gholamreza Soleimani, was assassinated in what Iran described as US-Israel attacks, the Fars News Agency reported on Tuesday.

In a post on X, the agency shared a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which described him as a “devoted and sincere fighter” and a “dear martyr”.

The statement referred to the incident as a “terrorist attack by the American-Zionist enemy”. It said the "cowardly assassination reflects the importance and role of the Basij" in the fight against the US and Israel.

The IRGC highlighted Soleimani’s long record of service.

It called the killing a “cowardly assassination”, saying it underscored the importance and role of the Basij in the battlefield against the “terrorist army of the United States, the Zionist regime, and their mercenaries”, particularly in the recent conflict.

The statement warned the attackers that Basij fighters would never leave unavenged the blood of its martyrs. It added that the blood of the martyrs would strengthen the resolve of the Iranian nation and all Basij volunteers, reinforcing their commitment to continue the path of "resistance and the struggle against global arrogance and international Zionism".

بیانیه سپاه پاسداران:

بسم‌الله الرحمن الرحیم
من المؤمنین رجال صدقوا ما عاهدوا الله علیه فمنهم من قضی نحبه و منهم من ینتظر و ما بدلوا تبدیلا

— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) March 17, 2026

Separately, Iran’s parliament speaker Muhammad Baqer Qalibaf said that the strategic Strait of Hormuz would not return to its pre-war status as long as the current regional conflict persisted.

The strait is a key waterway through which about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

In a post on X, he said: "The Strait of Hormuz situation won't return to its pre-war status."

The Strait of Hormuz situation won't return to its pre-war status.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 17, 2026

Earlier, United States President Donald Trump, whose call for assistance from allies to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic has largely been rebuffed, said that US forces "no longer need" military help in the Iran war.

"Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries' assistance, WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea," Trump posted on his Truth Social network, adding: "WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!"

Earlier in the day, Israel said it had killed Iran's powerful national security chief, Ali Larijani, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling him the leader of "the gang of gangsters" that runs the Islamic republic.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Larijani was "eliminated last night", although this has not been confirmed by Iran. "This morning we eliminated Ali Larijani, the boss of the Revolutionary Guards, which is the gang of gangsters that actually runs Iran," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.

He said the overthrow of Iran's authorities by the people "will not happen all at once, it will not happen easily. But if we persist in this -- we will give them a chance to take their fate into their own hands."

BREAKING: Israel has claimed it has killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani and Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani. Iran has not commented on, nor confirmed these claims. pic.twitter.com/GEHEaitulz

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 17, 2026

If confirmed, Larijani's death would be a huge blow to Iran's ruling system more than two weeks into the war engulfing the Middle East, which has upended global markets and had consequences far beyond the region's confines.

It comes less than three weeks after US-Israeli strikes on February 28 killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader since 1989, triggering a regional war with global repercussions.

It also comes weeks after a massive popular movement against the Islamic republic was crushed by authorities, with rights groups reporting thousands killed in the crackdown.

Larijani, 68, has been described as a key pillar in the ruling system, close to the late ayatollah and central to the government's nuclear policy and strategic diplomacy over decades.

After the war broke out, he became even more powerful. While the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen in public since he was appointed to replace his slain father, Larijani walked with crowds at a pro-government rally last week in Tehran.

The reported assassination comes as strikes shook countries across the Middle East on Tuesday, from Gulf nations to Iraq, Lebanon and Iran.

An AFP reporter had earlier on Tuesday reported blasts in Tehran, after a night of heavy bombardment mixed with thunder and rain.

Targeting leaders

Shortly after Israel said it had killed him, Larijani's official social media profiles posted a handwritten note by him paying tribute to Iranian sailors killed when a US submarine sunk an Iranian frigate this month.

The note was not dated, nor did the post address the claim of his death.

به مناسبت مراسم تشییع سلحشوران نیروی دریایی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران: یاد آنان همواره در قلب ملت ایران خواهد بود و این شهادت‌ها بنیان ارتش جمهوری اسلامی را برای سالها در ساختار نیروهای مسلح استوار می‌نماید. ازخداوند متعال علو درجات برای این شهدای عزیز خواستارم. pic.twitter.com/dvTdhyDYbY

— Ali Larijani | علی لاریجانی (@alilarijani_ir) March 17, 2026

Israel also said Tuesday it had killed Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, in a strike in Tehran.

And it said it had targeted Akram al-Ajouri, head of the military wing of the group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in a strike in Iran, though he was not confirmed dead.

Israel has since the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas pursued what analysts have described as a policy of decapitation, targeting the leaders of its enemies, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, as well as top leaders in Gaza.

The whereabouts of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is the subject of much speculation. US President Donald Trump said Monday that "we don't know... if he's dead or not".

Trump appeals

Across the region, hundreds of people have been killed and millions more displaced in the war.

In retaliation for the US-Israel attacks, Iran has targeted US interests, energy facilities and civilian infrastructure of its energy-rich neighbours, sending oil prices soaring.

Its threats and attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global crude oil passes, have also all but closed the key waterway.

Oil prices surged around three percent Tuesday after several countries pushed back on Trump's demand they help secure the strait by sending warships to escort tankers.

The US president has warned that it would be "very bad" for the future of the NATO military alliance if the allies refused to help.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London was working with allies to craft a "viable" plan to reopen the strait, but ruled out a NATO mission.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday the war was "not a matter for NATO", while EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels indicated no appetite to join the conflict.

Trump has also appealed to nations including China, Japan and South Korea to help on the Strait of Hormuz.

Some countries have negotiated safe passage for some of their ships, including India, while Iraq said it was in contact with Iran over the issue.

Asking for shelter

The war has also drawn in Lebanon, after Tehran-backed Hezbollah militants struck Israel over Khamenei's killing.

Israel has stepped up strikes and deployed ground troops to its northern neighbour, including targeting Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday, and later, conducting an air strike near the city's airport.

The Lebanese military said on Tuesday that an Israeli strike on a car and a motorcycle in southern Lebanon killed one of its soldiers and wounded four others.

More than a million people have been displaced across Lebanon, while Israeli strikes have killed 886 people since March 2, Lebanon's health ministry says.

In the southern city of Sidon, far from the border, displaced people were sleeping in their cars parked along the seafront corniche, according to an AFP team on the ground.

"Lots of people are coming every day to ask for shelter but we don't have space anymore, we can't accept them," said Jihan Kaisi, the director of an NGO that runs a school-turned-shelter, where more than 1,100 people are crammed together.

Blasts heard from Jerusalem after warning of Iran missiles in north Israel

A series of distant blasts were heard on Tuesday from Jerusalem after sirens sounded in northern Israel following a warning that Iran had fired missiles, AFP journalists said. "The IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the Israeli military said.

Iran launched fresh attacks on the United Arab Emirates, the kind of strikes on US Gulf allies that ​President Donald Trump said had not been expected, but which sources said he had been warned about before the conflict.

The US-Israeli war on Iran is in its third week, with at least 2,000 people ‌dead and no end in sight. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed off, with US allies rebuffing Trump's request for help to reopen the critical waterway, raising energy prices and fears of inflation.

There was no let-up in attacks by both sides early on Tuesday, with Iran launching missiles on Israel overnight, underscoring that Tehran still retains the capacity to carry out long-range strikes despite more than two weeks of pounding by US and Israeli weapons.

The Israeli military said it was targeting "Iranian regime infrastructure" with a new wave of strikes across ​Tehran, as well as Hezbollah sites in Beirut, a day after saying it had drawn up detailed plans for at least three more weeks of war with Iran.

Rockets and at least five drones targeted the US ​embassy in Baghdad early on Tuesday, Iraqi security sources said, describing it as the most intense assault since the war began. Two US officials said no injuries were ⁠reported so far.

Iran also targeted the United Arab Emirates, where attacks forced the temporary closure of airspace and a drone hit an oil facility in Fujairah, a key port for Emirati oil exports, for a second ​consecutive day.

UAE authorities said debris from an intercepted ballistic missile fell in Abu Dhabi’s Bani Yas area, killing one Pakistani national, while a fire caused by a drone attack was being fought at Abu Dhabi's Shah gas field.

Trump said ​Iran’s strikes against its neighbours, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait, were a surprise.

In yet another speech he prophecized:
“No One Expected Iran to Attack the Gulf States, We Were Shocked”!!!
"They weren't supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East"!!!https://t.co/FttYNqqaFv

— Harry (@Harry39426204) March 17, 2026

"They (Iran) weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East," he said on Monday. "Nobody expected that. We were shocked."

However, Trump was warned that attacking Iran could trigger strikes against US Gulf allies, according to a US official and two sources familiar with US intelligence reports.

The US official, who, like the other two, requested anonymity to discuss the issue, said Trump was briefed before the war that striking Iran could ​trigger a broader regional conflict that would include Iranian attacks against Gulf capitals, especially if Tehran saw those countries condoning or actively supporting the US bombardment.

Trump was also briefed ahead of the operation that Tehran would likely seek to ​close the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to two other sources familiar with the matter.

Trump earlier accused some Western allies of ingratitude after several countries rebuffed his demand to send warships to escort oil tankers in ‌the strait, through ⁠which 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flow.

Speaking at a White House event in Washington, Trump said many countries had told him they were prepared to help, but voiced frustration with some long‑standing allies.

"Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren't," he said, without offering specifics. "Some are countries that we've helped for many, many years. We've protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren't that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm matters to me."

A number of US partners, including Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Australia, said they had no immediate plans to send ships to help reopen the strategic waterway, which Iran has effectively shut with drones and naval mines.

"We lack the mandate from the ​United Nations, the European Union or NATO required under ​the Basic Law," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in ⁠Berlin, adding that Washington and Israel had not consulted Germany before launching the war.

Allies refuse Hormuz escort as Trump blasts ‘ingratitude’
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Major US allies including Germany, Spain and Italy said they have no immediate plans to send warships to reopen the route, which has been partially blocked by Iran using drones and naval mines.
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German Chancellor… pic.twitter.com/p1TJueYZXp

— Thenationthailand (@Thenationth) March 17, 2026

Naval escorts will not "100 per cent guarantee" the safety of ships attempting to transit the waterway, the Financial Times quoted the head of the International Maritime Organisation as saying on Tuesday.

Trump had earlier suggested China, which relies on Iranian crude, should help open the strait and ​that he might delay a much-anticipated trip to Beijing at the end of the month if he did not get support. On Monday, Trump said he was seeking ​to delay the visit by "a month ⁠or so".

While the US and Israel say they have decimated Iran's military, Tehran's fleet of cheap drones is continuing to cause havoc in the region.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, dismissed foreign reports that Iran is running low on missile launchers.

“They say that our firepower has decreased, but our offensive power, experience, and accuracy have increased," he said on state TV on Tuesday, adding that regional security needed to be established by regional countries.

Araghchi responds to Hegseth

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday in a post on X responded to comments made by the US War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday.

"We will keep pressing, keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemy," Hegseth said in the press briefing.

When the U.S. Secretary of War declares “no quarter”, he doesn't project strength. He conveys moral bankruptcy and ignorance about law of armed conflict. We advise him to review the Hague Convention and Rome Statute of the ICC, unless he aspires to join Netanyahu as war criminal.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 16, 2026

Araghchi responded, stating that when Hegseth declares "no quarter," he is conveying "moral bankruptcy and ignorance about the law of armed conflict." He warns the Secretary of Defense to review the International law, "unless he aspires to join Netanyahu as a war criminal."

"No quarter" is the refusal to spare the life of someone who has expressed their intention to surrender - something prohibited by law.

"International humanitarian law prohibits the use of this procedure, that is, ordering that there shall be no survivors, threatening the adversary therewith, or conducting hostilities on this basis," according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.