Israel attempted to kill Ali Larijani (his assassination has not been confirmed), the head of Iran’s Security Council and de facto leader following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei until the election of his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei. The Israeli military also announced that it killed Gholamreza Soleimani, head of Iran’s paramilitary Basij militia.
At the same time, Greece stated that it will not take part in an operation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to statements by government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis and Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis. Greece is effectively rejecting both France’s proposal for simple tanker escort operations in the strait and the U.S. proposal, which is more aggressive and involves strikes on Iranian targets.
Donald Trump said that the refusal of most countries to engage militarily in the Strait of Hormuz, in order to ensure the passage of ships, would have “very bad consequences for the future of NATO,” while also postponing his meeting with Xi Jinping scheduled for next month in Beijing.
Greece is participating, alongside Italy, only in Operation “Aspides,” which aims to protect shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Earlier, Trump had threatened to postpone the meeting if China did not deploy naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz — a move China has little incentive to make, as Iran sells oil to China and has allowed Chinese vessels to pass safely through the Gulf. Meanwhile, oil prices reached $104 per barrel today (up from $70 before the war).
War hostilities have now entered their 18th day. Israel and the United States continue airstrikes in Tehran (with more than 1,400 dead in Iran) and southern Beirut, while also escalating the ground invasion in southern Lebanon, besieging the key city of Khiam. In total, more than 880 people have been killed in Lebanon and over one million have been displaced.
Iran continues drone and missile attacks on Israel (15 dead), the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, a tanker, and oil infrastructure at the port of Fujairah in the UAE, as well as other U.S. targets across Gulf countries (with more than 20 civilian deaths and 13 U.S. soldiers killed).
Sources: Κathimerini, The New York Times [1], [2], Al Jazeera
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