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The U.S. is the world’s leading oil producer. So why are gas prices soaring?

March 17, 2026 / 11:21 AM EDT / CBS News

Motorists are paying sharply higher fuel prices since the outbreak of the Iran war, despite the U.S. being the world’s largest oil producer. Why?

After all, as of 2023 (the latest data available), the U.S. churned out roughly 13 million barrels of crude a day, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). That compares with roughly 10 million barrels from the world’s No. 2 and No. 3 producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

On Tuesday, the average national gas price in the U.S. rose to $3.79 a gallon, up from $2.92 a month ago, according to AAA. A gallon of diesel costs has shot up to more than $5, the highest level since late 2022.

Interconnected oil markets

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And here’s the thing: The U.S. exports much of the oil it produces, selling it to foreign purchasers. We also remain a major importer, with the U.S also the world’s biggest user of oil, data shows.

“The global market sets the price. The provenance of the oil we’re filling out gas tanks with doesn’t matter,” said Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.

The U.S. exports about 11 million barrels of its daily output, according to the EIA. It also imports roughly 8 million barrels of oil.

Much of the oil produced in the U.S. is known as “light” crude, the highest-quality oil and the one for which there is the greatest global demand. Yet most of the country’s refining capacity is optimized for a more viscous type of oil known as “heavy” crude. U.S. refineries can’t be quickly or easily reconfigured to handle lighter and low-sulfur, or “sweet,” grades of oil, explained Ernest Moniz, the former U.S. Secretary of Energy under President Obama and now an energy researcher at MIT.

“Oil from different places has different characteristics,” Willy Shih, a supply-chain expert and professor at Harvard Business School, told CBS News. “Refineries in the U.S., along the Gulf Coast in Texas, are geared toward handling a particular type of crude oil from Venezuela,” he said.

The upshot: When drivers fill up their cars, it’s often with gas produced using imported oil that was refined domestically. So when oil prices rise around the world, that also increases the cost of fuel in the U.S.

Meanwhile, surging oil prices aren’t only raising the cost of filling a car — it’s also boosting the cost of filling a plane with jet fuel. That, in turn, is leading airlines to lift their fares.

A recent analysis of U.S. airline ticket prices by Deutsche Bank analysts found that average domestic airfares for travelers booking flights later in March have climbed by between 15% and 124%. The average fare for transcontinental flights has jumped over 100%, while flight prices to the Caribbean, Florida and transatlantic destinations have also risen, according to the investment bank.

“If the price of oil goes up, the price of everything goes up,” Ernest Moniz, an energy researcher at MIT and the former U.S. Secretary of Energy under President Obama, told CBS News. “Even though we are a net exporter of oil, that doesn’t change the fact that we are a major importer as well.”

Edited by Alain Sherter

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/strait-hormuz-frontline-us-israeli-war-iran/

内坦亚胡：伊国安委秘书遭击毙 为伊朗人推翻政权创造机会 | 联合早报

发布时间：2026年3月17日22:18

以色列总理内坦亚胡说，击毙伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书拉里贾尼，是为伊朗人民争取推翻统治者的机会。

法新社报道，内坦亚胡星期二（3月17日）在电视讲话中说：“今天早上，我们除掉了革命卫队的头目拉里贾尼，而革命卫队正是控制伊朗的匪帮。”

他指出，伊朗人民推翻神权统治“不会一蹴而就，也不会轻易实现。但如果我们坚持下去——我们将给他们一个机会，让他们掌握自己的命运”。

以色列星期二称，伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书拉里贾尼已遭暗杀。伊朗随即发布拉里贾尼写给伊朗阵亡士兵的悼文，但没有否认或确认他的死讯。

美反恐中心主任辞职：无法昧着良心支持对伊战争

2026年3月17日 22:37 / 联合早报

美国国家反恐中心主任肯特宣布辞职，并指出伊朗对美国不构成迫在眉睫的威胁，成为特朗普政府中首名因伊朗战争辞职的高级官员。

路透社报道，肯特（Joseph Kent）星期二（3月17日）在社媒发布一封写给特朗普的信。他写道：“我无法昧着良心支持正在进行的伊朗战争。伊朗对我们国家不构成迫在眉睫的威胁，很明显我们发动这场战争是由于以色列及强大的游说集团施加的压力。”

另据法新社报道，肯特在信中写道：“在2025年6月之前，您（特朗普）一直明白，中东战争是一个陷阱，它夺走美国爱国者的宝贵生命，耗尽我们国家的财富和繁荣。”

他也说：“在本届政府初期，以色列高级官员和美国媒体的某些有影响力人士发起一场虚假信息宣传活动，彻底破坏‘美国优先’政策，并散播支持战争的情绪，企图挑起与伊朗的战争。这种回音室效应用来欺骗你们，让你们相信伊朗对美国构成迫在眉睫的威胁，并且如果你们现在发动攻击，就能迅速取得胜利。”

他写道：“这完全是谎言，以色列人也曾用同样的伎俩将我们拖入灾难性的伊拉克战争，这场战争夺去了我们国家数千名最优秀男女的生命。我无法支持让下一代上战场，为一场对美国人民毫无益处、也无法证明牺牲是正当的战争送死。”

一些专家指出，根据现行法律，美国只有在面临迫在眉睫的威胁时才能发动战争。

白宫尚未对此事作出回应。国家情报总监办公室也未作出回应。情报官员对这一消息感到意外。

肯特与国家情报总监加巴德（Tulsi Gabbard）关系密切，加巴德自伊朗战争爆发以来一直保持低调，没有发表任何公开声明，只在本月初美伊冲突中阵亡的美国士兵的遗体移交仪式上公开露面。

Trump says he believes he has ‘honor’ of ‘taking Cuba,’ calls Caribbean island a ‘very weakened nation’

Published March 17, 2026 10:18am EDT | Fox News

President Donald Trump said he believes he has the “honor” of “taking Cuba” as he described the Caribbean island as a “very weakened nation.”

Trump made the remark to Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy on Monday, the same day Cuba plunged into a blackout after its entire electrical grid suddenly suffered a total collapse.

“When you say Cuba is next, is Cuba – whatever you do with the military there, it seems like something – will that look more like Iran or Venezuela?” Doocy asked the president in the Oval Office.

“I can’t tell you that. I can tell you that they’re talking to us. It’s a failed nation. They have no money, they have no oil, they have no nothing,” Trump responded, before later saying, “I do believe I’ll be the honor of, having the honor of taking Cuba… That’s a big honor.”

CUBAN PRESIDENT REVEALS TALKS WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AS FUEL BLOCKADE CHOKES DOMESTIC ENERGY SUPPLY AND ECONOMY

“Taking Cuba?” Doocy said.

“Taking Cuba in some form. Yeah. Taking Cuba, I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth?” Trump said. “They’re a very weakened nation right now. They were for a long time. A very violent, very violent leaders. Castro is a very violent leader. His brother is a very violent leader, extremely violent. That’s how they governed. They governed with violence. But a lot of people would like to go back.”

PROTESTERS TORCH COMMUNIST PARTY HQ IN CUBA; VIDEO APPEARS TO CAPTURE GUNFIRE

The Cuban government is in talks with Trump administration officials, the country’s president said Friday, as Havana works to halt a potential regime change as it deals with a widening energy crisis.

Cuba’s economy has struggled since the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from his home in Caracas at the start of the year. The Trump administration immediately cut off oil exports to the island.

Earlier this month, Trump also vowed to “take care” of Cuba’s regime following America’s focus on Iran.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Bonny Chu contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391069608112

Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, killed in airstrike, Israel says. Here’s why his death is significant.

March 17, 2026 / 10:59 AM EDT / CBS News

Top Iranian security official Ali Larijani was killed in overnight strikes, Israel said Tuesday, marking a significant moment for the Islamic Republic in the conflict.

Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Larijani was “eliminated.” There was no immediate confirmation out of Iran on his apparent killing.

Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was among the most senior leaders of the regime still alive in Iran after top leaders — including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — were killed at the start of the war. He was one of the regime’s most experienced insiders and deeply trusted by the late Khamenei. He was also among a very small group of people who could manage both the war and the politics around it.

He was a hardliner who understood negotiation, and also a system loyalist who understood limits.

Larijani had been a defiant voice since the war began and warned only a week ago, in a message aimed at President Trump, that the Iranian people “do not fear your empty threats; even those greater than you have failed to erase them… so beware lest you be the ones who disappear.”

He last appeared in public on Friday at a demonstration for al-Quds Day, an annual event in support of Palestinians. It was an act of defiance as he walked through crowds in Tehran in the middle of the conflict.

Why Larijani’s death is significant

---

Larijani was a former Revolutionary Guards officer who went on to run state broadcasting, serve as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator and serve as the speaker of parliament for more than a decade. More recently, he returned to the core of power as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, sitting at the intersection of military, intelligence and political decision-making. He also came from one of Iran’s most powerful clerical families, which matters in the theocracy.

In the months leading up to the war, Larijani had become even more important, at times effectively running the country’s day-to-day strategy as pressure mounted.

Operationally, the impact of his death is likely limited in the short term. Politically, it could harden attitudes and reinforce the narrative inside Tehran that this is an existential fight aimed at dismantling the leadership itself.

Over time, it removes one of the few insiders who could help shape a political off-ramp. Figures like Larijani are often the ones who help manage not just how wars are fought, but how they end.

Larijani could operate inside the security state and still engage in external negotiation. He helped shape Iran’s nuclear posture and was involved in quiet efforts to reopen channels with Washington even as tensions escalated.

Just as importantly, he helped manage the political layer of the war itself.

He was one of the few figures who could shape the messaging, signal intentions and maintain lines of communication externally, even as fighting continued, while remaining fully trusted by the system. While he understood escalation, he also understood where it needed to stop. That made him one of the few figures in Tehran capable of managing both sides of a crisis at once, and without him, that capability shrinks.

His death also means that Mojtaba Khamenei, who is the new supreme leader and son of the late ayatollah, loses one of the few men who knew how his father actually ran power. Larijani was close to the late Khamenei and part of an inner circle that understood how power was exercised at the top.

The Islamic Republic, however, is built to absorb the losses of leaders like Larijani, and so his death may not fundamentally change Iran’s trajectory. Power does not disappear, but instead shifts while the system remains.

In his final messages, Larijani was blunt. He framed the war as an existential struggle and challenged Muslim countries directly, asking them, “Which side are you on?” over their apparent silence as the violence raged on. At the same time, he insisted Iran was not seeking domination over its neighbors.

Larijani among other leaders killed

---

The Israeli military also announced on Tuesday the killing of the Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s feared Basij paramilitary force.

“The Israeli Air Force, acting on IDF intelligence, targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past six years,” the IDF said in a statement, accusing the Basij, under Soleimani’s command, of leading “the main repression operations, employing severe violence, widespread arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators” to quash anti-government protests that swept across Iran in January.

The IDF called Soleimani’s assassination “an additional significant blow to the regime’s security command-and-control structures” and it vowed to “continue to operate with determination against commanders of the Iranian terror regime.”

The Trump administration said earlier this month that the operation against Iran had killed 49 of “the most senior Iranian regime leaders.”

The U.S. said on Friday it was offering up to $10 million, and the potential opportunity to relocate, for information on the whereabouts of 10 senior Iranian leaders. Larijani had been among them.

以色列称打死拉里贾尼 伊朗未确认或否认 | 联合早报

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发布/2026年3月17日 22:46

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[美军武器与兵力大举调往中东 印太防线拉响“真空”警报]

[伊朗局势前景不明朗 刺激油价回升超过5%]

以色列称打死拉里贾尼 伊朗未确认或否认
===================

拉里贾尼最近一次公开露面是上周五（3月13日），他当时出席了德黑兰的一个亲政府集会。 （路透社）

拉里贾尼最近一次公开露面是上周五（13日）。如果死讯属实，他会是继时任伊朗最高领袖哈梅内伊于2月28日战争首日死于美以空袭后，遭刺杀的最高级别伊朗官员。哈梅内伊之子穆杰塔巴虽已接替父亲成为最高领袖，但据悉他受了伤，职务可能由拉里贾尼代理。以色列形容，拉里贾尼是伊朗“实权领袖”。

拉里贾尼被视为伊朗政府中较为务实的人物，在与西方的核谈判中，曾发挥关键作用，但随着美伊关系陷入紧张，他的立场在最近几个月变得强硬起来。

延伸阅读

---

[美军武器与兵力大举调往中东 印太防线拉响“真空”警报][伊朗局势前景不明朗 刺激油价回升超过5%]

半岛电视台分析指出，拉里贾尼被暗杀将让各方更难与伊朗政治领导层接触，而即使他真的已身亡，也不意味着伊朗政权已经垮台。无论如何，以色列将视这次刺杀为一项重大战略胜利。

目前，美以伊冲突未见缓解迹象。美国总统特朗普周一被问及战争能否在本周结束时回应：“没那么快，但肯定用不了多久。”

伊朗德黑兰这栋住宅楼周一遭受空袭，紧急救援人员随即赶到现场展开工作。（路透社）

俄罗斯否认穆杰塔巴赴莫斯科疗伤

路透社周二引述匿名伊朗高官报道，穆杰塔巴在上任后的首次外交政策会议上，拒绝与美国缓和紧张关系或达成停火的提案，这些提案由两个中间国家转达给德黑兰。

据悉，穆杰塔巴强调，目前不是实现和平的时机，伊朗必须击败美以，并让它们支付赔偿。

此前有消息称，穆杰塔巴已赴莫斯科疗伤。但俄罗斯塔斯社周二报道，伊朗驻莫斯科大使贾拉利否认有关消息。

特朗普批评盟友对护航反应冷淡

伊朗外长阿拉格齐周一与联合国秘书长古特雷斯通电话时说，所有关注和平与安全的国家和国际机构都有责任谴责美以的罪行，并要求两国停止对伊朗的军事侵略。他也说，霍尔木兹海峡航运受阻是美以发动战争导致的。

特朗普同日说，他很快就会宣布哪些国家同意为通过霍尔木兹海峡的船只护航。他批评一些西方盟友忘恩负义，对美国的护航请求反应冷淡。

包括德国、西班牙、意大利等一些美国伙伴说，它们没有立即派船协助打开霍尔木兹海峡的计划。

美国国家经济委员会主任哈塞特周二称，油轮已开始零星地穿越海峡，这表明伊朗已几乎什么都不剩，美国对战争将很快结束非常乐观。

航运数据和路透社的统计显示，受战争造成的中断和减产影响，在截至3月15日的一周内，波斯湾地区每日石油出口量较2月份下降了至少60%。

立即订阅《联合早报》，洞察全球局势异动，把握世界经济发展脉搏，解锁国际热点评析。

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• [海军部地铁站列车内充电宝自燃 女子受伤送院 ———————]
• [三食客称餐后腹泻索偿百元 没就医证明餐馆拒赔报警 ————————]

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消息：日本拟在美日首脑会谈提出采购美国原油

发布时间 / 来源

伊朗冲突加剧全球对能源成本的担忧，更推动油价上涨逾4%。图为美国得克萨斯州米德兰市的一台抽油机。 （法新社）

日本政府相关人士透露，政府已展开协调，计划在首相高市早苗与美国总统特朗普的首脑会谈上，提出采购美国阿拉斯加州产原油。

日本共同社引述消息人士报道，日本计划于星期四（3月19日）的两国首脑会谈上，作出上述提议。

鉴于中东局势紧张，日方希望促进原油进口来源多元化。

此外，日本政府也在协调，拟表态愿意为美国下一代导弹防御构想“金穹”提供协助，旨在提升应对中国、俄罗斯和朝鲜正在推进开发的高超音速武器的能力。

“金穹”是特朗普去年5月宣布的构想，以保卫美国本土而在太空部署探测和拦截导弹的宏大计划。相关详情尚不明确，总费用据称为1750亿美元（约2233亿新元）。日方希望以特朗普关注的事项作为杠杆，强化日美同盟。

据相关人士介绍，“金穹”构想的主要内容之一是应对高超音速武器。由于这类武器以音速五倍以上的速度在低空变轨飞行，防空雷达或难以进行追踪与拦截。由于日美在2023年8月的首脑会谈上，就共同开发应对高超音速武器的新型拦截导弹达成了共识，日方似乎做出可以为这一构想提供协助的判断。

Senate Republican expands childcare fraud crackdown to more blue states

Sen Bill Cassidy widens fraud hunt beyond Minnesota to include 3 Democratic states

By Alex Miller
Fox News

Published March 17, 2026 8:29am EDT

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican is expanding his childcare fraud investigation, going beyond Minnesota and into several other blue states.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., is widening the net of his crackdown on fraud to include New York, Michigan and Oregon.

Cassidy initially launched his fraud hunt to target Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and demanded the former vice presidential candidate provide receipts for a litany of childcare-related grants and federal funding that were at the heart of the Minnesota fraud scandal.

[‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’: SENATE REPUBLICANS PRESS GOV WALZ OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL]

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is expanding his childcare fraud investigation into several more blue states after targeting Minnesota earlier this year.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Now, in letters to Democratic Govs. Kathy Hochul, Gretchen Whitmer and Tina Kotek, first obtained by Fox News Digital, Cassidy charged that their respective states lead or have led the nation in improper payments in state-administered childcare assistance programs.

“Error rates of this magnitude raise significant concerns about both fraud prevention and access to child care for the families these programs are intended to serve and highlight the need for strengthened program monitoring, improved internal controls, and greater transparency in how these programs are administered,” Cassidy wrote to each governor.

Citing Department of Health and Human Services data, Cassidy noted that New York had a payment error rate of over 17% in fiscal year 2024, Michigan’s rate was over 12% in fiscal year 2025, and Oregon had an error rate of over 35% in fiscal year 2024.

[SENATE REPUBLICANS PUSH TO DEPORT, DENATURALIZE FRAUDSTERS AMID MINNESOTA SCANDAL]

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks in Minnesota.(Alex Kormann/Getty Images)

Cassidy demanded similar receipts from each governor as he did from Walz, such as how often the state conducted on-site monitoring, inspections or investigative visits to childcare facilities that received federal dollars. He gave each governor until March 30 to respond.

Among his demands were a history of each state’s improper payment rates between fiscal years 2016 and 2025 and explanations for any significant changes.

[SCATHING AUDIT REVEALS MORE FRAUD CONCERNS INSIDE TOP MINNESOTA AGENCY WITH FABRICATED DOCUMENTS, ‘MISCONDUCT’]

He asked what kind of anti-fraud measures have been enacted since 2016, as well as action plans to prevent fraud, verify eligibility and ensure payments align with actual services provided.

The lawmaker also requested information on how federal funding is being used, how the states are verifying childcare providers and monitoring those that receive subsidies, and details on audits and investigations conducted since 2016, including whether fraud or improper payments were found.

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

“Ensuring the integrity of child care assistance programs is critical not only for protecting taxpayer dollars, but also for maintaining public confidence in programs designed to support children and families,” Cassidy wrote.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

习特会推迟 再掀台湾对美军购时程生变疑虑 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月17日 20:17

台湾民间智库“中华亚太菁英交流协会”3月17日举办座谈会，邀请专家学者解读针对中国大陆两会与习特会的信号。左起为台湾中华经济研究院助理研究员王国臣、国防安全研究院副研究员王占玺、台北医学大学教授兼通识中心副主任张国城、台湾政府大陆委员会副主委沈有忠、金门大学国际暨大陆事务学系副教授卢政锋、东吴大学政治系副教授陈方隅、中华亚太菁英交流协会秘书长王智盛。 （缪宗翰摄）

美国总统特朗普宣布推迟访华，引发台湾各界关注是否影响对台军售时程；但台湾官方星期二（17日）强调，台美沟通密切，并未收到军售延迟的相关信息。

特朗普星期一（16日）在白宫受访时证实，由于与伊朗的战争仍在持续，他已要求北京，将他与中国国家主席习近平原定4月初举行的高峰会延后约一个月。

外界此前普遍认为，这次习特会将触及双方在韩国釜山会晤时未处理的台湾议题。习近平2月初与特朗普通话时，更曾特别要求美方“务必慎重处理对台军售问题”。

随后，《纽约时报》2月底就引述美国官员证实，为了避免在习特会之前造成不稳定因素，特朗普政府已延后宣布一项总值130亿美元（166亿新元）的对台军售案。

不过，随着伊朗战事持续延烧，美国在过去一个星期开始施压西方盟友与中国支援在霍尔木兹海峡护航。

与此同时，路透社上星期也引述消息人士透露，特朗普政府正准备批准爱国者三型（PAC-3）与国家先进地对空导弹系统（NASAMS）等对台军售，总额高达140亿美元，可能在他返美后宣布；另有60亿美元的“非对称防御能力”项目也待批准，可能在后续方案中公布。

因此，在习特会推迟的消息传出后，台湾有不少观点认为，美国对台军售可能延宕。

对此，台湾国防部长顾立雄星期二在立法院受访时透露，台美之间有进行密切协调。就他了解，美方内部相关审查程序都如期进行，台湾并未接获延迟的相关信息。

至于美国近期把日韩军力移往中东，是否可能降低对北京的吓阻力？顾立雄则强调，台湾会严密关注相关征兆。

另一方面，台湾政府的大陆委员会副主委沈有忠当天出席一场座谈会受访时，也被多家媒体询问对于习特会将如何处理台湾课题。

沈有忠坦言，根据他的判断，这场峰会一定会谈到台湾，台湾也没有办法影响或改变中国大陆与美国在接触谈判过程中的内容。“但是我们（台湾）要一致对外地清楚展现出，自己国防靠自己来、去捍卫自己国家主权的决心。”

与绿营关系密切的台湾智库咨询委员、台北医学大学通识教育中心副主任张国城，则在座谈中提醒，通常在谈判中，“比较缺乏筹码的一方，会比较想要延缓会议的进展”。

他认为，美国现在面临战争造成的油价上涨，若再拿增加关税作为对中国大陆的武器，只会进一步恶化物价跟通膨的趋势。这更凸显美国如今面对北京，“能拿出来的牌，相对来讲目前并不是很多，如果延续太久，对台湾相对来讲是不利的。”

内坦亚胡：伊国安委秘书遭击毙 为伊朗人推翻政权创造机会

2026年3月17日 22:18 联合早报

以色列总理内坦亚胡说，击毙伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书拉里贾尼，是为伊朗人民争取推翻统治者的机会。

法新社报道，内坦亚胡星期二（3月17日）在电视讲话中说：“今天早上，我们除掉了革命卫队的头目拉里贾尼，而革命卫队正是控制伊朗的匪帮。”

他指出，伊朗人民推翻神权统治“不会一蹴而就，也不会轻易实现。但如果我们坚持下去——我们将给他们一个机会，让他们掌握自己的命运”。

以色列星期二称，伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书拉里贾尼已遭暗杀。伊朗随即发布拉里贾尼写给伊朗阵亡士兵的悼文，但没有否认或确认他的死讯。

延伸阅读

消息：伊朗最高领袖态度强硬拒和谈 以色列宣称击毙伊朗最高国安委秘书 伊朗当局尚未回应