Iran fires cluster munitions at central Israel — retaliating for Larijani killing claim

Iran fired cluster munitions at central Israel in the afternoon of Day 18, following the IDF's announcement of the killing of Ali Larijani. The Times of Israel reported damage across the area with no injuries. The use of cluster munitions marks a tactical escalation from Iran's standard ballistic missile approach. Cluster munitions disperse submunitions over a wider area, increasing strike footprint and complicating civilian emergency response. Their use against civilian areas is prohibited under the Ottawa Convention and Additional Protocol II, though neither Iran nor Israel are party to those instruments. The strike is part of a Day 18 retaliatory cycle: Mojtaba Khamenei rejected ceasefire proposals demanding the US and Israel be brought to their knees first, and Iran maintained parallel ballistic missile salvos on northern and central Israel throughout the day.

Key facts

• •Iran fires cluster munitions on central Israel — damage reported, no injuries
• •First confirmed Iranian cluster munition strike on central Israel in the conflict
• •Attack timed to follow IDF claim of killing Larijani — clear retaliation
• •Cluster munitions disperse submunitions over wide area; their civilian use is prohibited under Ottawa Convention
• •Iran maintaining two separate ballistic missile salvos on northern Israel same day
• •Mojtaba Khamenei rejected all ceasefire proposals — no diplomatic off-ramp