Iran launched missiles and drones toward Israel and several Persian Gulf countries on March 18, prompting widespread responses from air defense systems across the Middle East, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The IDF said in a post on Telegram that it had identified missiles launched from Iran and engaged defensive systems to intercept the threat. It added that emergency alerts were sent to residents’ mobile phones in affected areas and urged the public to follow instructions from the Home Front Command, the IDF branch responsible for supporting civilians. Home Front Command later said civilians were permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas of the country.
The Israeli military also said in a March 18 post on X that an overnight strike in Tehran killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib.
“Khatib had been appointed Minister of Intelligence by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in 2021,” the IDF said in a post on Telegram. “In his role, Khatib oversaw the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, the Iranian terrorist regime’s primary intelligence organization, which also played a key role in supporting the regime’s repression and terrorist activities.”
Persian Gulf States Intercept Missiles, Drones
Countries across the Persian Gulf also reported incoming Iranian strikes on March 18.
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense said in a post on X that its systems “engaged 13 ballistic missiles and 27 [unmanned aerial vehicles] launched from Iran.” The ministry added that since the onset of what it called “blatant Iranian aggression,” defenses had intercepted hundreds of ballistic and cruise missiles and 1,699 drones.
The ministry also reported casualties, saying that two armed forces members were killed while performing their duties that and six civilians of various nationalities died. Officials said the military remained fully prepared to counter further threats and would protect the country’s sovereignty and stability.
The Qatari Ministry of Defense said in a post on X that armed forces had intercepted a missile attack targeting the country.
In a separate statement about an attack the previous day, the ministry said Qatar had been targeted by nine ballistic missiles and multiple drones, all of which were successfully intercepted.
Saudi Arabia also reported defensive actions. A Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson said in a post on X that a ballistic missile launched toward Al-Kharj governorate was intercepted and destroyed, with debris falling near Prince Sultan Air Base without causing damage.
Strikes on Iran
The missile launches came hours after Israel said it had completed a wave of strikes targeting Iranian command centers in Tehran. The Israeli air force, acting on intelligence guidance, hit facilities linked to internal security forces and ballistic missile operations, the military said on March 17.According to the IDF, targets included the headquarters of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps security unit responsible for suppressing protests, a logistics maintenance center tied to internal security forces, and a command center belonging to Iran’s ballistic missile array.
Several air defense systems were also struck to expand Israeli aerial superiority over Iranian airspace, the military said.
The IDF described the operation as part of a broader phase aimed at damaging “the core systems and foundations of the Iranian terror regime.”
Iran’s official judiciary news agency, Mizan, said at least eight people were killed in an airstrike on a courthouse complex in Iran’s Larestan county on March 18.
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 reported that the exact number of those killed and wounded is not yet known.
Iranian state media said on March 18 that facilities at its South Pars offshore natural gas field had come under attack. Iranian state television and the Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the strike hit installations in Asaluyeh, in Bushehr province in southern Iran, but offered no further details.
Russia, which built and helps run Iran’s only nuclear power station, the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, condemned a strike near the plant on March 17, which it said was just meters away from its reactor, and called on the United States and Israel to stop attacking the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made the comments during a news briefing.
“We strongly condemn the irresponsible and utterly unacceptable missile strike on the inner perimeter of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, just a few meters from an operational reactor,” Zakharova said.
Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency on March 17 that the attack had caused no damage or injuries.
