Iran on Tuesday (March 17) claimed that it launched a missile attack which struck near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, state-affiliated Press TV reported. The strikes come as Israel claimed that it killed Iran's national security chief, Ali Larijani, though Tehran has not confirmed his death.
Israeli media reported that Iranian missile fragments fell across Jerusalem's Old City, landing near major religious sites. Sirens had sounded in the Jerusalem area and parts of central Israel. However, the Prime Minister's office has not sustained any damage.
Iranian missile debris has struck the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity's holiest sites, located in Jerusalem. Shrapnel damage has also been reported near key religious landmarks, including the Temple Mount, NDTV reported.
Meanwhile, Israeli PM Netanyahu said that the killing of Tehran's national security chief Ali Larijani was part of efforts to give Iranians a chance to remove their rulers.
"This morning we eliminated Ali Larijani, the boss of the Revolutionary Guards, which is the gang of gangsters that actually runs Iran," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
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He said the overthrow of the clerical authorities by Iranians "will not happen all at once, it will not happen easily. But if we persist in this -- we will give them a chance to take their fate into their own hands."
Earlier in the day, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) released a high-profile photograph showing Netanyahu in a military command centre, appearing to direct a fresh wave of strikes against Iran. The move comes as the government aggressively pushes back against viral social media claims suggesting the Prime Minister had been killed or incapacitated.
(Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, the US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.)

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