Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, had been killed in airstrikes overnight.

Katz said in a statement that he had been informed by the military that Larijani and the commander of Iran’s Basij forces, Gholamreza Soleimani, had both been killed, according to Reuters.

Iran has not yet confirmed the report.

Larijani was seen as the right-hand man of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in strikes aimed at high-ranking Iranian officials at the beginning of the war on Feb. 28.

Iran has since retaliated by attacking its Gulf neighbors and targeting ships trying to pass through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

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Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has a new “verified” account on X, the influential social media platform owned by Elon Musk.

Khamenei, whose X handle is @Rahbarenghelab_, went on a tweetstorm Thursday about the war against Iran by the U.S. and Israel, and the Islamic Republic’s response to it.

“Dear fighter brothers! The desire of the masses of the people is the continuation of effective and regret-inducing defense. Furthermore, the leverage of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used,” Khamenei wrote in one post to his more than 44,000 followers on X. All of the posts have been translated by X from Persian.

“I assure everyone that we will not forgo vengeance for the blood of your martyrs,” he wrote in another post.

In addition to talking about the Strait of Hormuz, Khamenei urged Iran’s neighbors in the Middle East to “clarify their stance” and for those that host U.S. military bases to shut them down.

Khamenei was selected as Iran’s supreme leader earlier this week to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike on the first day of the war on Feb. 28.

xAI, the artificial intelligence company of Musk’s that owns X, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mojtaba Khamenei’s new account on the platform, which has the blue check mark reserved for “premium” users.

Wired magazine published an article Feb. 12 before the war started with the headline “Elon Musk’s X Appears to Be Violating US Sanctions by Selling Premium Accounts to Iranian Leaders.”

The article cited a report by the Tech Transparency Project that said “TTP identified more than two dozen X accounts allegedly run by Iranian government officials, state agencies, and state-run news outlets, which display a blue check mark, indicating they have access to X’s premium service.”

The article noted that “an X Premium subscription, which is the only way to receive a blue check mark, costs $8 a month, while a Premium+ subscription, which removes ads and boosts reach even further, costs $40 a month.”

Hours after the article was published, Wire reported, the blue check marks for several Iranian officials’ accounts that the magazine had flagged to X were removed.

Wired’s article noted Musk personally had echoed President Donald Trump in “slamming Iranian government officials and supporting the thousands of protesters railing against the regime.”

— CNBC’s Matt Peterson contributed to this article

German arms maker Rheinmetall said it sees this year’s sales growing by as much as 45% as it reported 2025 revenue growing 29% year-over-year, missing expectations.

It also said it was in a “prime position to help the US replenish their missile stockpiles” used in the war in Iran, such as supplying critical solid rocket motors.

In a presentation to accompany earnings on Wednesday, the company said “higher spend for missile restocking and air defence” was “inevitable.”

It comes as defense companies are expected to be on the receiving end of governments’ hiked spending on military capabilities, amid increased demand due to the wars in Ukraine and Iran. Rheinmetall expects its order backlog to more than double to 135 billion euros this year.

“The tense security situation underpins the promising position of the Group, whose products are playing an increasingly important role for the increase in defence capabilities in Germany and its partner countries,” Rheinmetall said.

The defense giant, Germany’s seventh-largest company by market value, issued its 2026 outlook, which it had hinted at during a preclose call in early February.

Group sales are expected to grow by between 40% and 45% to between 14 billion ($16.26 billion) and 14.5 billion euros. Operating result margin is expected to be around 19%, up from 18.5% in 2025. Jefferies analysts called the guidance “realistic but soft.”

“The world is changing rapidly, and Rheinmetall is well prepared,” said CEO Armin Papperger in a statement.

“With our products, we will have a significant share in the increasing equipment spend of the armed forces and deliver what modern armed forces need in the 21st century.”

Shares fell 5.2% in early trading on Wednesday while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.7%.

Sales grew by 29% over the full year to 9.94 billion euros ($11.56 billion), missing expectations of 10.53 billion euros, according LSEG estimates.

Earnings before tax and interest came in at 1.68 billion euros, compared with estimates of 1.75 billion euros, while the order backlog reached a record high of 63.8 billion euros, a 36% jump from the previous year. 

“As budget approvals resumed toward year‑end and defence spending picked up across Europe – particularly in Germany – we expect delayed programmes to convert into contracts, supporting a rebound in nominations and reinforcing the company’s already elevated backlog,” noted Morningstar analyst Loredana Muharremi ahead of the print. 

In February, the company indicated sales for this year would come in at between 13.2 billion and 14.1 billion euros, and EBIT between 2.4 billion and 2.8 billion euros, both more than 10% below expectations. Shares subsequently fell 6.5%.

Barclays analysts in February called the share move following the indicated guidance “a marked over-reaction,” saying that “expectations are high, and shares continue to be very sensitive to any information that comes out.”

Noting some confusion over the like-for-like numbers this year, given recent changes to the business structure, the analysts said that weapon and ammunition growth will remain elevated, and there is scope for its naval business to be resilient, too. 

“From a structural perspective we think nothing has really changed here: the backlog growth in 2026 will be material.”

Rheinmetall shares have risen about 540% over the past three years, as a leading provider of land systems and ammunition in Europe.

Gains, however, have moderated over the past year as some investors question whether shares have reached their full value and if growth can be sustained long-term. Coming into Wednesday trading, the stock was up just 3.4% year-to-date. 

Rheinmetall and other defense firms like Britain’s Bae Systems and Italy’s Leonardo are viewed as well-placed to capitalize on hiked spending by European governments over the next five years against a backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Rheinmetall is looking to sell its civilian automotive to focus purely on meeting demand for its defence business. It’s also now active in the naval sector following its acquisition of shipbuilder Naval Vessels Lürssen, which closed in February.

Shares of defense companies, including Rheinmetall, initially spiked after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, killing its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It raised fears that the attacks would develop into a full-blown war engulfing the entire Middle East region, which would eventually lead to more demand for military equipment.

Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet are among the big tech firms scrambling to ensure the safety of their employees who are traveling through or based in the Middle East after joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran over the weekend.

The massive attack on Iran killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, among others, and Iran retaliated with strikes on Israeli and U.S. bases across the Gulf. The conflict has disrupted civilian life, internet access in Iran, flight routes and energy shipments across the region.

Chip tech leader Nvidia temporarily closed its Dubai offices, with employees there working remotely, according to an email reviewed by CNBC that was sent by CEO Jensen Huang to all employees early Tuesday.

Huang said in his memo that Nvidia’s crisis management team has been “working around the clock and actively supporting affected employees and their families” in the Middle East, including around 6,000 Nvidia employees based in Israel.

In 2019, Nvidia acquired Mellanox, an Israeli company that makes ethernet switches and other networking hardware, for around $7.13 billion, the largest deal in Nvidia’s history at that time. And today, outside of the U.S., Israel represents Nvidia’s largest research and development base.

As of Tuesday morning, all Nvidia employees impacted by the conflict and their immediate families were safe, Huang said.

“Nvidia has deep roots in the region,” Huang wrote. “Thousands of our colleagues live there, and many more across the globe have family and friends affected by these events. Like you, I am watching with great concern for the safety of our Nvidia families.”

The State Department said Monday that Americans should “depart now” from countries across the Middle East using available commercial transportation, citing “serious safety risks.” By Tuesday afternoon, the agency said it was working to secure military aircraft and charter flights to evacuate Americans from the region amid escalating instability.

The disruptions to air travel meant dozens of Google employees have been stranded in Dubai after a sales conference, according to sources, who asked not to be named in order to discuss sensitive matters.

The company’s cloud unit held its “Accelerate” sales kickoff in Dubai last week.

A memo was sent to some cloud employees on Sunday morning that noted it still has team members on the ground, adding that recent attacks are “concerning,” according to employees, who asked not to be named in order to speak about internal matters.

Though most employees got out of the region, dozens remain stuck there, the sources said.

Following the attack on Iran, airlines had mass cancellations. More than 11,000 Middle East flights have been cancelled since the U.S.-Israeli strikes over the weekend, according to aviation-data firm Cirium.

Google said the majority of impacted employees are not U.S.-based but in-region employees. It added that it has security and safety measures in place for its employees in the Middle East and has advised staff to follow guidance from local authorities.

“The situation in the Middle East is evolving rapidly and we are monitoring it carefully,” a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Our focus is on the safety and well-being of our employees in the region.”

Tel Aviv, a central Israeli city that has been hit with strikes, is also a major hub for Google. The search giant is in the process of expanding into a massive new headquarters in the ToHa2 Tower, expected to be one of its largest global sites.

Google did not immediately respond to questions about how Tel Aviv-based operations and employees have been affected by the Iran conflict.

Amazon, which has grown its presence in the Middle East region in recent years, is also altering its operations there as it responds to the widening conflict in the region.

The company is instructing all of its corporate employees in the Middle East to work remotely and “follow local government guidelines.”

“The safety of our employees and partners remains our top priority, and we are working closely with local teams and local authorities to ensure they are supported,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.

Amazon operates corporate offices in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey and Israel. It also operates warehouses and data centers throughout the region, and “quick commerce outlets” in the UAE to fulfill 15-minute deliveries.

Its sprawling data center footprint became a flashpoint in the conflict on Sunday. Two data centers in the UAE were “directly struck” by drones, while a facility in Bahrain was also damaged by a nearby drone strike.

The facilities sustained structural damage, power disruptions and some water damage after firefighters worked to put out sparks and fire. The sites remain offline, and some Amazon Web Services applications, such as its popular virtual server and database services, have continued to experience issues.

AWS encouraged customers to back up their data or consider migrating workloads to other regions.

“Even as we work to restore these facilities, the ongoing conflict in the region means that the broader operating environment in the Middle East remains unpredictable,” AWS said.

Social media company Snap told CNBC that it’s asking employees at its four Middle East offices to work remotely until further notice.

The company said staffers are being advised to follow advice from local authorities regarding shelter-in-place orders and departure recommendations.

— CNBC’s Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report

WATCH: Iran has many more drones than originally expected

Global defense stocks jumped on Monday as investors reacted to a dramatic military escalation in the Middle East over the weekend.

The sector was a rare bright spot amid a broader market sell-off triggered by fears of a wider regional conflict.

Germany’s Hensoldt and Britain’s BAE Systems were among the top performers in the Stoxx 600, both up around 4%. Defense names Thales, Renk, and Leonardo rose between 4% and 1%, paring earlier gains, while the broader Stoxx 600 index fell more than 1%, touching a two-week low.

Stateside, U.S. firms Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman each rose more than 5% in premarket trading. Futures tracking the S&P 500 were down 1.1%.

With South Korean markets closed Monday, regional activity in Asia-Pacific defense sector was somewhat muted. Japan’s defense heavyweights Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI rose about 3% each, while Singapore’s ST Engineering climbed 2.8%.

The moves come after the U.S. and Israel launched widespread attacks on Iran over the weekend that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ending his 36-year rule. Retaliatory strikes by Iran against U.S. bases in the Middle East killed three U.S. service members.

Prospects of an escalation also led oil prices and energy companies’ shares to surge.

“It’s very much one of uncertainty at the moment that investors are grappling with,” said Patrick O’Donnell, Chief Investment Strategist at Omnis Investments.

“Equity markets are a little bit more uncertain about just how long this is going to drag on, for the implication for both growth and inflation that it will have the longer that it goes on,” O’Donnell told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday.

“Really, it’s a question of… what’s the duration of this conflict?”

The conflict with Iran entered a third day on Monday, with U.S. President Donald Trump warning of further American casualties and saying the conflict could last for up to four weeks. 

In June last year, the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes that damaged three Iranian nuclear sites.

Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister of Sweden and co-chair of ECFR’s Council, said it was expected that Iran would strike back at the American military facilities in the Gulf region, “but now it seems like they are striking other targets across the Gulf as well.”

“That is surprising, but also highly disturbing, because, of course, the stability of the Gulf countries is important to us all, important to the global economy, important to the region,” he said.