Iran claims ‘surprise’ Kheibar missile strike on Israel PM Netanyahu's office

# News Desk
Protestors stand on an image depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu | AFP
Protestors stand on an image depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu | AFP

Tehran: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday claimed it carried out a “surprise” missile strike targeting the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the location of the Israeli Air Force commander, Iran Times reported, as the conflict widened across West Asia.

"The office of the criminal prime minister of the Zionist regime and the headquarters of the regime's air force commander were targeted," IRGC said in a statement carried by Fars news agency.

It said Kheibar missiles were used in the attack. According to the report, the IRGC said Netanyahu’s fate was “unclear” following the attack. There was no immediate confirmation or response from Israeli authorities.

The exchange came as Iran launched missiles at Israel and attacks spread to multiple fronts, with Tehran-backed Hezbollah firing on Israeli positions and Israel retaliating in Lebanon. The United States also continued airstrikes on Iranian targets.

Iran rules out talks with US

Amid the strikes, senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani said on X: “We will not negotiate with the United States.”

The remark followed comments by Donald Trump, who had earlier urged Iranians to “take over” their government but later signalled openness to dialogue with new leadership in Tehran.

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Iran’s foreign minister suggested that some military actions may not have been under direct central control when questioned about attacks on Gulf Arab states that have previously acted as intermediaries.

Casualties mount on both sides

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said at least 555 people have been killed in Iran and more than 130 cities have come under attack in the U.S.–Israeli campaign. Israeli authorities reported 11 fatalities from Iranian strikes.

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In Kuwait City, fire and smoke were seen inside the US Embassy Kuwait compound after an incident that followed a U.S. warning for Americans to take cover. Kuwait’s defence ministry said “several” American warplanes had crashed in the country, adding that the pilots were hospitalised in stable condition. The U.S. military did not immediately comment.

In Iraq, a pro-Iranian militia claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting U.S. troops at Baghdad airport, a day after saying it had fired on a U.S. base in Irbil. Cyprus also reported a drone attack targeting a British base on the Mediterranean island.

The United States and Israel said they had bombed Iranian missile sites and naval assets, claiming to have destroyed a headquarters and multiple warships.

The expanding theatre of attacks, from Israel and Lebanon to Iraq, the Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean, underscores the risk of a broader regional war as hostilities move beyond bilateral strikes into multi-front engagements.