Middle East latest: Iran attacks Israel and Gulf countries after Israeli strike kills security chief

An explosion erupts from a building following an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon (Hussein Malla/AP)

What happened overnight

• Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the global repercussions of the Middle East war 'will hit all'
• In an interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi also said that Iran’s stance against the development of nuclear weapons would not significantly change.
• Donald Trump continued to lash out at Nato allies
• The US military said it targeted sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz
• An Iranian missile barrage killed two people in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv
• In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes have targeted central Beirut
• Iran has confirmed the death of the Basij militia commander Gholamreza Soleimani
• A projectile hit the premises of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday night.

Iran launched strikes towards Israel and neighbouring Gulf countries early on Wednesday, with explosions heard in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and interceptions reported in Saudi Arabia.

The attacks came hours after Iranian state media confirmed Israel’s military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike, as well as General Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force, known for its role in suppressing protests.

Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in Bachoura, central Beirut, completely flattening it as day broke.

Missiles launched from Iran streak across the sky over central Israel (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

Two earlier strikes on residential apartments in other central Beirut neighbourhoods early on Wednesday killed at least six people and wounded 24 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Israeli strikes targeting central Beirut — far from the city’s southern suburbs, for which the army issued evacuation notices early in the war with Hezbollah — have become increasingly frequent in recent days, with or without prior warning.

The US-Israeli war with Iran has killed at least 1,300 people in Iran, more than 900 in Lebanon and 14 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The US military said 13 US service members have been killed and about 200 wounded.

-Additional reporting from the Guardian