Live: Israel says it has killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Iranians have an ‘opportunity’ to overthrow the regime after the death of security chief Ali Larijani.

In a new video released today, Netanyahu said there are ‘many more surprises’ ahead after Israel earlier announced the assassinations of high-ranking figures.

He said: ‘We are undermining the regime in the hope of giving the people an opportunity to remove it.

‘It will not happen all at once, and it will not be easy. But if we persist, we will give them an opportunity to take their fate into their own hands.

‘We are helping our American allies in the Gulf. We will assist both indirectly and through direct actions — there are many more surprises ahead.’

by Jake Holden, UK News Reporter

King Charles’s US state visit should be delayed to avoid his Majesty being ’embarrassed’ by the backdrop of the Iran War, a Labour MP has said.

Dame Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs committee, said that she believes it would be ‘safer’ to delay the King’s visit to the US, which is reportedly scheduled for next month, due to the ongoing fighting in the Middle East.

The visit has not yet been formally announced, but Charles, 77, and Camilla, 78, are expected to visit Washington and New York to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence ahead of the July 4 celebrations.

Dame Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme this morning: ‘If it was to go ahead, it would go ahead against a backdrop of a war and that, I think, is quite difficult – and the last thing that we want to do is to have their Majesties embarrassed’.

The Dame is the latest of several politicians to call for its delay or cancellation over fighting in Iran, like Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey earlier this month and ex-US ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott.

Iranian authorities have called on people to pack streets nationwide tonight on a night usually marked by Persian new year festivities to help defy ‘enemy plots’.

The message, broadcast widely in Iranian media, urged people to join religious groups ‘in the squares of all the country’s cities from 5:00 pm (1:30 GMT)’.

It said it would be a ‘popular gathering to neutralise the potential plots of elements of the Zionist enemy’, referring to Israel.

The call came after Israel said it had killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, which has not been confirmed by Tehran, and ahead of expected evening celebrations of Chaharshanbe Suri, an ancient Iranian festival of light and fire marked before the new year, Nowruz.

Iranian officials had earlier called on citizens to join the funeral ceremonies on Tuesday of 84 navy sailors killed when their frigate was sunk by a US submarine.

by Ross Ibbetson

Donald Trump’s top counterintelligence official has resigned in protest over the Iran war and America’s support for Israel.

Joe Kent, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said: ‘I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.

‘Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.’

Kent said it had been ‘an honor’ to serve under Trump and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Joe Kent, the former Special Forces soldier, has resigned from his position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center over the Iran war.

In his resignation letter Kent said Iran posed no ‘imminent threat’ to the US, contradicting claims from the Trump administration.

He said: ‘I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.

‘Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.

The Israeli military has launched an air strike near Beirut’s airport after several raids hit the area earlier in the day.

‘Israeli warplanes launched a raid, the third today on the southern suburbs, targeting the old airport road near the Ansar Stadium in the Burj al-Barajneh area,’ a short distance from Beirut International Airport, state media reported.

The Lebanese civil aviation authority, in a statement to state media, said the airport continued to operate normally and that the road leading to it remained passable.

by Phillip Nieto, US Political Reporter

Donald Trump’s inner circle is growing alarmed that he may be losing control of the Iran war after allied countries flatly rejected his plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has demanded US allies deploy warships to reopen the critical oil passageway, but France, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom have all declined to assist in protecting commercial shipping from Iranian attack.

Gas prices have surged to an average of $3.80 a gallon from $2.90 before the conflict began, now in its third week, as the narrow strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows remains strangled by Iranian mines and missiles.

Trump’s allies fear the spiraling conflict has boxed him in without a clear off-ramp, raising concerns he may be forced to put troops on the ground to salvage victory.

‘We clearly just kicked [Iran’s] ass in the field, but, to a large extent, they hold the cards now,’ a source close to the White House told Politico. ‘They decide how long we’re involved, and they decide if we put boots on the ground. And it doesn’t seem to me that there’s a way around that, if we want to save face.’

Indian vessel ‘Nanda Devi’ was allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz

Oil tankers are crossing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s actions to choke traffic through the shipping route have not hurt the US economy, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett has told CNBC.

Hassett reiterated the Trump administration’s stance that the war should be over in weeks and not months.

‘Already you’re seeing tankers are starting to dribble through the straits, and I think it’s a sign of how little Iran has left.

‘We’re very optimistic that this is going to be over in the short run, and then there will be price repercussions when it is over for a few weeks, as the ships make it to the refineries,’ he said.

Hassett said there is concern that Asia may not be exporting as much refined oil to the US to handle a decrease in supply from the Middle East.

‘We’re seeing some signs that they might be pulling that back to make sure that they have enough energy for themselves. And we’ve got a plan for that,’ he said.

British Airways said it has cancelled flights to and from several destinations in the Middle East until June as war in the region disrupts the global aviation industry.

The airline has cancelled flights to Amman, Bahrain, Dubai, and Tel Aviv through 31 May.

Flights to Doha have also been suspended until 30 April, with the airline operating a ‘limited schedule’ until 31 May.

‘Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability… we’ve extended the temporary reduction in our flying schedule in the region,’ the airline said in a statement.

Routes to Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia will continue to operate, while its flights to Abu Dhabi will resume on October 25, as previously announced.

Veteran BBC journalist John Simpson has questioned whether Israel’s assassination of Ali Larijani is a ‘good idea’ amid suggestions it could scupper any peace deal.

The corporation’s World Affairs Editor said although Larijani was a leading figure in a ‘nasty regime’ he was also ‘clever and reasonable’.

Simpson wrote: ‘I’ve met Ali Larijani several times over the years. Yes, he was a top figure in a nasty regime.

‘But he always seemed clever and reasonable — the kind of person you might want to negotiate a peace deal with. Is it a good idea for Israel to take out people like him?’

Israel has said it has killed Iran’s security chief and head of its paramilitary militia while a senior Iranian official has said the new Supreme Leader has rejected talks to reduce tensions.

In a day that has seen huge developments for the Israel-Iran war, here’s what you need to know:

• The IDF has said it has wiped out security chief Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, who led the volunteer Basij militia, in overnight airstrikes
• Iran has yet to comment but a handwritten note relating to the funerals of Iranian sailors was posted on Larijani’s X page after news of his death emerged
• Israel’s defence minister says the men will join the late Ayatollah Khamenei in the ‘depths of hell’
• An Iranian official has said Mojtaba Khamenei has demanded Israel and the US be ‘brought to their knees’ as he rejected offers to de-escalate the war
• Two intermediary countries conveyed proposals to Iran for reducing tensions or a ceasefire with the United States which have been dismissed by Tehran at a foreign policy meeting
• The official did not clarify whether Khamenei attended the meeting in person with the leader yet to be pictured since being named last week to replace his father

HMS Dragon, the British warship deployed to the Mediterranean to help protect Cyprus, has today arrived in Gibraltar.

The destroyer is an air-defence warship and will be tasked with providing the sovereign base at Akrotiri in Cyprus with air defences against drones from Iran.

Whilst in Gibraltar, the ship is expected to take on fuel and supplies before heading into the Mediterranean.