Iran lashes out with attacks on Israel and Gulf neighbors as Israel hits Beirut

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran lashed out following the killing of one of its top leaders in an airstrike with attacks on its Gulf neighbors and Israel on Wednesday, using some of its latest missiles to evade air defenses and killing two near Tel Aviv as the war in the Middle East showed no signs of slowing.

Israel kept up intense pressure on Lebanon with strikes it said targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, hitting multiple apartment buildings in Beirut and killing at least six people.

In Iran, the Bushehr nuclear power plant complex was hit by a projectile but there were no injuries and the plant suffered no damage, the International Atomic Energy Agency said after receiving a report from Tehran. The IAEA’s leader, Rafael Grossi, reiterated his call “for maximum restraint during the conflict to prevent risk of a nuclear accident.”

The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, remained stubbornly over $100 per barrel in early trading on Wednesday, up more than 40% from the start of the war.

Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran to start the war on Feb. 28, Iran has been targeting the energy infrastructure of its Gulf Arab neighbors, as well as military bases, as part of a strategy to drive up oil prices and put pressure on Washington to back down.

Iran’s judiciary announced a man had been executed on charges that he spied for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The judiciary’s Mizan news agency identified the man as Kourosh Keyvani and alleged that he “provided images and information on sensitive locations” to Israel.

Activists and rights groups have warned since Iran’s nationwide protests in January that the Islamic Republic could begin conducting mass executions. Iran violently suppressed the protests through violence that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained.

New attacks were reported in multiple Gulf countries early Wednesday, including on Saudi Arabia's vast Eastern Province, which is home to many of its oil fields, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a projectile caused a small fire at its base in the UAE near Dubai but caused no injuries. His comments appeared to correspond with explosions heard near Al Minhad Air Base, used by Western nations as a transit hub for the wider Mideast.

Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile targeting the area of the Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts American forces and aircraft.

Iran has also shown no sign of relenting in its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane through which a fifth of the world's oil transits, giving rise to growing concerns of a global energy crisis.

U.S. Central Command said the U.S. military fired multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator bombs Tuesday on Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the strait.

Responding to Israel's killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and one of the country’s most powerful figures, the Republican Guard said Wednesday it had targeted central Israel with multiple-warhead missiles, which have an increased chance of evading missile defense systems and can overwhelm radar tracking systems.

Israel reported at least two salvoes of incoming fire and the country's medical service said two people were killed in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the force launched the Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr multiple-warhead missiles to avenge Larijani’s killing. Footage filmed by The Associated Press showed at least one missile releasing cluster munitions over Israel.

Larijani, a former parliamentary speaker, was a senior policy adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration. He was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in January for his role “coordinating” Iran’s violent suppression of nationwide protests.

Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij militia, was also killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday. Soleimani was sanctioned by the U.S., the European Union and other nations, over his role in suppressing dissent for years through the Basij.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad also came under fire for the second day in a row early Wednesday, two Iraqi security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

Further details were not immediately available, but pro-Iran militia groups have been regularly attacking American targets in Iraq since the start of the war. On Tuesday a drone cashed inside the Baghdad embassy compound.

Israel flattened an apartment building in central Beirut about an hour after issuing an evacuation notice. It was the fourth time the building has been targeted, but three strikes last week failed to bring it down.

Israel's military claimed the building was being used by Hezbollah to store “millions of dollars intended to finance its activities,” without providing evidence.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but other attacks on apartment buildings in central Beirut have killed at least six people and wounded 24 others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The Israeli army also said it had begun a wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon “in response to firing into Israeli territory.”

Israel’s strikes have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese — roughly 20% of the population — according to the Lebanese government, which says more than 900 people have been killed. In Israel, 14 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the conflict started Feb. 28, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

Rising reported from Bangkok, AlJoud from Beirut. Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this story.

A view of a building damaged in an Israeli airstrike, in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Volunteers clean debris from a residential building damaged when a nearby police station was hit Friday in a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - Commander of Iran's Basij paramilitary force, Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, gives a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Fire and plumes of smoke rise after a drone struck a fuel tank forcing the temporary suspension of flights. near Dubai International Airport, in United Arab Emirates, early Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

FILE - Ali Larijani, center, head of Iran's National Security Council, gestures as Hezbollah supporters throw rice to welcome him outside Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

MIAMI (AP) — Aaron Judge walked slowly back and forth in the United States dugout Tuesday night while Venezuelan players shed tears and fell to their knees to celebrate the country's first World Baseball Classic title.

Other players from the Americans' $320 million roster stood frozen for several minutes before receiving their silver medals. Bryce Harper, who hit a tying homer in the eighth inning, went over to shake hands with Team Venezuela players before leaving the field.

“In those moments, it's like the Olympics or anywhere else,” Harper said. “I'm really happy for them. Obviously, I want to win no matter what. That's what I play for, is to win a championship and a goal medal. But in that moment it's not about me, it's about us and our game.”

Team USA brought its most loaded roster ever to baseball’s premier international event, but the Americans lost their second straight WBC final after winning the championship in 2017.

“Obviously disappointed,” Judge said. “All of us put on this uniform to go out there and win a gold medal. We fell short of that.”

The U.S. produced just three hits Tuesday night and four runs over the final two games of the WBC — well short of offensive expectations for a roster of players who combined for 382 home runs and 1,111 RBIs last MLB season.

Three years after losing to Shohei Ohtani and Japan in 2023, the Americans were again disappointed, this time by an energetic Venezuelan team led by All-Stars Ronald Acuña Jr., Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez mowed down the Americans' fearsome lineup with measured ease on Tuesday, leaving the colorful celebration to his teammates who met him with claps as he stoically exited the mound in the fifth.

Rodríguez fanned Judge — the U.S. captain went 0 for 4 — twice among four strikeouts and held the Americans to just one hit over 4 1/3 innings.

“I’m not going to make any excuses for us,” said United States manager Mark DeRosa. "I think at the end of the day ... it’s early in spring training. Guys are getting ready for the season. Eventually I think the tournament gets moved and I think the guys are in better form pitching-wise.

“But ultimately it’s who gets hot at the right time, who gets a big swing.”

The Americans have won just one title in six iterations of the tournament. DeRosa indicated that the U.S., which has received more buy-in from marquee MLB position players over the years, is still lacking the same commitments from star pitchers.

Reigning two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal participated this year but made just one start in pool play in order to stick with his ramp-up schedule for the regular season with the Detroit Tigers.

“I think every position player wants to play in it," DeRosa said. “I think from a pitching standpoint, everybody’s at different stages in their career. You've got to get buy-in from the team. You’ve got to get buy-in from the player. You've got to get buy-in from the agent. I think everybody in their heart ... wants to do it. It’s just, what’s the timing of where they are at in their career?”

Venezuela's bullpen gave up only two hits, including Harper's two-run homer over the center-field fence against Andrés Machado in the eighth.

Arraez walked against Garrett Whitlock starting the ninth and pinch-runner Javier Sanoja stole second just ahead of catcher Will Smith’s throw, then came home on Eugenio Suárez double. Suárez spread his arms wide and pointed to the sky at second base while teammates streamed from the dugout to greet Sanoja at the plate.

It signaled another brutal finish could be coming for the U.S., which lost the 2023 WBC title game when Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to win it for Japan.

The American roster was made up of players who have combined for more than 2,300 home runs and 419 saves, and nine of them have played in a World Series.

But they never quite displayed the full extent of their offensive firepower. They hit .250 over seven games with 44 runs, 10 homers and 40 RBIs.

DeRosa said he was surprised by the lack of offense “because of the names at the back of the jersey, but not surprised because of where they’re at in spring training."

“That’s my answer,” he added. “I really don’t have a rhyme or reason to why. I just think you’re either hot or not in a seven-game blast like this.”

After the U.S. beat the Dominican Republic 2-1 in the semifinals, DeRosa said he was still waiting for his team to break loose at the plate.

That will have to wait another three years.

This story has been corrected to show Eduardo Rodríguez pitched 4 1/3 innings, not 5 1/3 innings.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Former MLB player Clayton Kershaw carries a silver medal after the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

United States pitcher Tyler Rogers walks the pitchers mound during the ninth inning in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

United States manager Mark DeRosa hugs starting pitcher Nolan McLean at the end of the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

United States right fielder Aaron Judge shakes hands with manager Mark DeRosa after receiving their silver medals following the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

United States manager Mark DeRosa relieves United States pitcher Nolan McLean during the fifth inning in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

United States pitcher Nolan McLean reacts after walking Venezuela Ronald Acuña Jr. during the third inning in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

United States Aaron Judge gestures after striking out during the fourth inning in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)