Paris (France) (AFP) – Iran fired missiles across the Middle East on Sunday after vowing to avenge the death of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while Israel conducted fresh strikes on Tehran. Day two of the war — started Saturday by the United States and Israel with strikes on Iran — brought escalating danger for commercial ships in the Gulf, especially around the narrow Strait of Hormuz, with two vessels hit. The United States also said it sank an Iranian warship in the Gulf of Oman. Here are the latest developments.
– **Iran kills 9 in Israel**
Iran strikes on Israel killed at least nine people in the city of Beit Shemesh, first responders said. Another 28 were wounded, the Magen David Adom emergency service said. Police stated there was a direct hit on a building. In the UAE, the defence ministry reported three fatalities and 58 injuries since Iran’s strikes began the previous day. In Kuwait, one person was killed and 32 were wounded since the start of Iran’s retaliation campaign, according to the health ministry.
– **Sinking oil tanker**
Two ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, one off Oman and the other off the UAE, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said. Iranian state television announced that an oil tanker was struck and was sinking after attempting to “illegally” pass through the strait, which Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have declared closed. Major container shipping companies MSC and Maersk suspended navigation in the region, with MSC advising its vessels to seek “safe shelter” in the Gulf.
– **US sinks Iranian warship**
US forces struck and sank an Iranian warship in the Gulf of Oman at the start of its operations against the Islamic republic, the American military stated on Sunday. “An Iranian Jamaran-class corvette was struck by US forces during the start of Operation Epic Fury. The ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier,” US Central Command posted on X.
– **Iran denies targeting neighbours**
Iran’s powerful security chief denied that Tehran was targeting its neighbours, insisting that its retaliation was aimed at US bases. Gulf countries were set to hold virtual talks late Sunday to discuss a unified response, as two Gulf diplomats informed AFP.
– **’Shelter in place’**
The UK Foreign Office urged British citizens in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE to “shelter in place” and advised against all but essential travel to those countries. Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey noted that Iran’s “indiscriminate retaliatory attacks” included “two ballistic missiles fired in the direction of Cyprus,” although he added that they were likely not targeting the Mediterranean island.
– **Israel hits Tehran**
The Israeli army announced “large-scale” strikes targeting the “heart of Tehran” for the second consecutive day. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz hailed Khamenei’s killing as a “turning point in the war.”
– **Ayatollah tapped for council**
Iran formed an interim leadership council to take over following Khamenei’s death. A mullah, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, was named to sit on the council alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and the head of the judiciary. The body will govern until a new permanent leader is selected. In a recorded video statement on state TV, Pezeshkian confirmed that the council has “started its work.”
– **Iran retaliates**
Pezeshkian asserted that the killing of Khamenei was a “declaration of war against Muslims,” vowing vengeance. Iranian security chief Ali Larijani promised to hit the US and Israel with unprecedented force. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to have attacked the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, but the Pentagon denied this.
– **US warns citizens in Bahrain**
US officials cautioned citizens in Bahrain to avoid hotels in the capital Manama, while staff at the US embassy in Jordan were instructed to avoid the embassy compound due to potential attack risks.
– **Deadly protests erupt**
Crowds gathered in Iran’s south to demand vengeance following Khamenei’s killing in US and Israeli attacks, according to Iranian media. Similar gatherings occurred in Tehran and the central city of Yazd. In Iraq, hundreds of protesters tried to storm the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, where the US embassy is located. In Pakistan, nine individuals were killed as hundreds attempted to storm the US consulate in Karachi. Several thousand Shia Muslims participated in demonstrations in Indian-administered Kashmir, many of them chanting anti-Israel and anti-US slogans.
– **More deaths announced**
Iran’s police intelligence chief Gholamreza Rezaian was reportedly killed during the US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic. Iranian media stated on Sunday that Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi was also killed, along with other senior generals in the strikes. State TV listed the names of Mousavi alongside defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and others. Iran’s judiciary confirmed that the chief of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, and another top security adviser, Ali Shamkhani, were also “martyred” in the attacks.
– **UN nuclear agency to meet**
The United Nations’ nuclear agency is set to hold an extraordinary meeting on Iran on Monday. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced the meeting was requested by Russia, a key ally of Tehran.
© 2024 AFP
