Dubai: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.
Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early Sunday.
US President Donald Trump had announced his death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their greatest chance to ‘take back their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the ìheavy and pinpoint bombingî was to continue through the week or as long as necessary.
The strikes opened a stunning new chapter in US intervention in Iran, marking the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the country during talks over its nuclear programme.
The killing of Khamenei after decades in power appeared certain to create a significant leadership vacuum, given the absence of a known successor and because the supreme leader had final say on all major policies.
On Sunday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its ìmost intense offensive operationî ever, targeting Israel and US bases.
Israel’s military claimed Sunday that its strikes had killed 40 top Iranian military officials, including the chief of staff for the Iranian armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi. Israel did not provide evidence, and neither Iran nor the United States immediately commented on the claim.
The Israeli military also said it had “dismantled the majority of the aerial defence systems in western and central Iran” and was “paving the way towards establishing aerial superiority over the skies of Tehran.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sissi of Egypt has warned that the Middle East could slide into chaos as the conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran entered a second day.
He called for “dialogue and peaceful means” to settle the region’s crises, saying that the escalation has serious consequences that could push the Mideast into chaos. El Sissi’s comments came in a phone call Sunday with Oman’s leader, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, according to the Egyptian leader’s office.
Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain have all reported intercepting incoming attacks.
Qatar’s Defence Ministry says the country’s air force and air defence units intercepted missiles and drones fired from Iran, and that there were no casualties.
The Bahrain News Agency, citing the National Communication Centre, said the country intercepted a wave of missiles and drones launched by Iran. It said “limited” debris landed in a number of areas, without providing further details.
Kuwait’s Defence Ministry said the military’s air defences repelled “a number of hostile aerial targets” but did not mention any human or material losses.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office said shrapnel from a drone that was intercepted by air defence units fell at a tower in Abu Dhabi, lightly wounding a woman and her child.
The office said that the sounds heard Sunday in the capital of the United Arab Emirates were those of successful interceptions.
An adviser to the United Arab Emirates’ president says Iran “missed its target” with its attacks on the Arab Gulf states following US Israeli strikes in Tehran.
“Your war is not with your neighbours, and through this escalation,” Anwar Gargash, who was a former state minister for foreign affairs, wrote on X platform on Sunday. “Return to your senses, to your surroundings, and deal with your neighbours with reason and responsibility before the circle of isolation and escalation widens.”
The United Arab Emirates was hit hard by Iranian missiles and drones, particularly Dubai, the Emirates’ commercial hub.
The UAE sought in recent years to de escalate tensions with Iran despite its longtime suspicions of its northern neighbour.
A nearly total internet blackout continued in Iran on Sunday morning, the second day of a conflict between Tehran, the US and Israel, a monitoring group said.
NetBlocks said connectivity has flatlined at 1 per cent of its ordinary levels.
Internet communication and international phone calls in Iran have frequently been disrupted since the nationwide anti government protests that started earlier this year.
Japan’s top government spokesperson said Sunday that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must not be allowed and that Japan has consistently supported dialogue between Washington and Tehran as an important step toward resolving issues.
“Iran must stop nuclear weapons development and other actions that destabilise the region,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said, while falling short of expressing clear support for the US attack on Iran.
Dubai authorities said two people were injured when debris from Iranian drones shot down by air defences landed in the courtyards of two homes in the city.
The Dubai Media Office also said the booms heard in the emirate were “the result of successful interception operations” by air defences.
After explosions in Dubai, smoke could be seen rising in the area of Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, and the city state’s Jebel Ali port.
Iranian Australians celebrated Sunday as news emerged that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US.
A group of about 200 people waving Australian, American, Israeli and old Iranian flags chanted and danced outside the Iranian Embassy in Canberra, Australia’s capital.
One of those celebrating, Nassim Rezakhani, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she was excited by the news.
“Words cannot describe the feeling of the people of Iran. As we said, the reason we are celebrating is that this is not a war on Iran. This is a war for the people of Iran,” she said.
