Paris (France) (AFP) – The United States and Israel launched waves of strikes Saturday against targets in Iran, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic Republic. US President Donald Trump said that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead. Iranian state television confirmed the news early Sunday.
Here are the latest developments.
**Iran Leader Killed**
Iranian state television reported Khamenei’s death in the early hours of Sunday, broadcasting archive images with a black banner. Iranian media also reported the deaths of his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead,” Trump had said hours earlier on his Truth Social platform. “Heavy and pinpoint bombing…will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST,” Trump wrote. Iranian state television announced a 40-day mourning period and seven public holidays following the ayatollah’s death. The country’s judiciary confirmed Sunday that the chief of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, and another top security adviser, Ali Shamkhani, were also “martyred” in the strikes.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the campaign sent a message to those who would harm Americans: “We will hunt you down and we will kill you.” Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s late shah, hailed the killing of Khamenei, saying the Islamic Republic was entering the “dustbin of history.” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and two other top officials will lead the country in a transitional period following the death of Khamenei, state television reported.
The joint US-Israeli operation began earlier on Saturday with smoke rising over Tehran after strikes that Israel said were pre-emptive. Shortly after, Trump announced US combat operations, with the goal of “eliminating imminent threats.” Israel’s military said it targeted multiple sites where senior Iranian officials had gathered in Tehran and launched strikes against Iranian missile launchers. It said 200 fighter jets had taken part in the “extensive attack,” hitting more than 500 targets. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks killed senior Iranian officials and warned that thousands more targets would be struck in the coming days. The Iranian judiciary said 108 people died in a strike on a girls’ school in Minab, citing a provincial official who blamed Israel. AFP was unable to access the location to verify the toll or the circumstances surrounding the incident. A new series of powerful blasts were heard Sunday in Tehran, AFP journalists in the Iranian capital reported. The source of the blasts was not immediately clear.
**Missile, Drone Wave**
In response to the US and Israeli attacks, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and other American bases in the Gulf on Saturday, after launching a first wave of missile and drone attacks at Israel. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said a woman was killed and at least 21 were injured in the Tel Aviv area. The Israeli military said it deployed search and rescue teams to multiple locations across the country following reports of fallen projectiles. After Khamenei’s death, the Guards said Sunday they would launch the “most ferocious” operation in history against Israel and US bases.
**Gulf Explosions, Strait Closed**
Explosions were reported across the Gulf region Saturday. The United Arab Emirates said that two people were killed in Abu Dhabi, including a Pakistani civilian. The country’s defence ministry stated that 137 missiles and 209 drones were fired at its territory. Witnesses in Dubai reported hearing an explosion and seeing missiles streak across the sky. Others told AFP they heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from the man-made island The Palm. Four people were injured. AFP correspondents heard loud explosions in the Saudi capital Riyadh, as well as in the Bahraini capital Manama and across Qatar’s Doha. Qatar’s defence ministry said it had intercepted several missile attacks targeting the Gulf state. Two people were killed in air strikes on an Iraqi military base housing the powerful pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah, which threatened the US with a response. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world’s oil and gas passes.
**Allied Support, Warnings**
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting over the fighting, with Iran’s envoy accusing the US and Israel of committing a possible “war crime” by attacking civilians. UN chief Antonio Guterres said military action in the Middle East “carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control.” Oman’s foreign minister, who has been mediating talks between Tehran and Washington, said he was “dismayed” by the violence. The European Union stated that developments in Iran were “perilous.” Gulf states condemned Iran’s “cowardly” attacks in a joint statement read by Bahrain’s ambassador during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Russia slammed the US-Israeli strikes as a “dangerous adventure” that could spark regional “catastrophe.” Another Iranian ally, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, called on countries and people in the region to stand against Israel and the US.
**Airspace Closures, Flights Nixed**
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE, and Israel all closed their airspaces to civilian traffic, at least in part, and multiple airlines cancelled flights to the Middle East. Russia cancelled commercial flights to both Iran and Israel “until further notice.”
© 2024 AFP
