IRAN was hit with another wave of strikes on Sunday, a day after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli attacks. Iran’s state media confirmed that the 86-year-old leader had died after an air strike carried out as part of a military campaign to overthrow the government of the Islamic Republic.
Israel’s military said Khamenei was killed in a large-scale operation conducted by its air force. The strike also killed Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, broadcaster Iran TV reported.
Hours after the confirmation of Khamenei’s death, US president Donald Trump warned Iran against retaliation. The United States would hit Iran “with a force that has never been seen before,” he said, if Tehran responded to the strikes.
“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever been hit before,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
He added, “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”
Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said a temporary leadership council would be set up following Khamenei’s death.
He accused the United States and Israel of trying to plunder and disintegrate Iran and warned “secessionist groups” of a harsh response if they attempt action, state television said.
In remarks aimed at Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said they had crossed a red line and would “pay for it”.
A source briefed on the Israeli campaign told Reuters there had been no change in military strategy after Khamenei’s killing and that strikes would continue to target Iranian officials and missile infrastructure.
Iran’s air force conducted strikes on US bases in Iraq’s mostly Kurdish north and in Gulf countries, Tasnim news agency reported.
Several loud blasts were heard for a second day on Sunday in Dubai and over Qatar’s capital Doha, witnesses said, after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on neighbouring Gulf states.
White smoke from missile interceptions was seen in the skies over Dubai, while dark smoke rose over its port of Jebel Ali. Two people were injured after shrapnel fell from drones following an interception by air defences over two houses in Dubai.
Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly across Israel early on Sunday, and explosions were heard in Tel Aviv as Israel’s air-defence system intercepted Iranian missiles. There was no immediate report of damage or injuries.
Global air travel remained disrupted as air strikes kept major Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai, closed.
Khamenei had led Iran for 36 years. He worked to build Iran into an anti-US force and expanded its influence across the Middle East. State media said he was in his office during Saturday’s attack. The strike also killed his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law.
Israel and the United States timed the attack to coincide with a meeting of Khamenei and his top aides, according to two US sources and a US official familiar with the matter.
Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani expressed condolences over Khamenei’s killing and urged Iranians to maintain unity.
In Pakistan, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters outside the US consulate in Karachi following news of Khamenei’s death, a Reuters witness said.
Trump said the air strikes were aimed at ending a decades-long threat from Iran and preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.
“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump and Netanyahu urged Iranians to use what they described as an opportunity to topple their clerical leadership.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the armed forces would soon retaliate again with their biggest offensive against US bases and Israel.
Iran had responded to Saturday’s initial attacks by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at US troops and cities in Israel and Arab countries allied with Washington. The Pentagon said there were no US deaths or injuries.
Tehran said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, a route for about a fifth of global oil consumption. The OPEC+ group is due to meet and may consider a larger-than-planned output increase as tanker owners and oil companies suspended shipments through the Strait.
After a 12-day air war in June between Israel and Iran, joined by the United States, both sides had warned they would strike again if Tehran continued its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
(With inputs from agencies)
