Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a “sixth wave” of missile and drone attacks on Israel and US bases across the region, in retaliation after Israel and the United States launched a war that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and at least 133 civilians, including more than 100 children at a girls’ elementary school.
In a statement broadcast on state television, Iran’s army said its air force had “successfully bombed US bases in countries of the Persian Gulf and in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in several phases of operations.”Iran also launched missiles toward Israel, triggering air defence systems and sirens across central and southern parts of the country. Repeated barrages were reported over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv early Sunday, while a massive explosion struck Iran’s capital Sunday as the Israeli army said it was targeting the “heart” of the city.
In Dubai, multiple blasts were heard throughout the morning, with smoke visible in the sky. Debris from an aerial interception over Business Bay caused a fire at Jebel Ali, the city’s main commercial port, authorities said, as plumes of smoke rose above the harbour. In Doha, several loud explosions were heard at 7:30am local time. Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said 16 people were injured, with limited material damage reported in some areas.
Bahrain’s state media also reported that air defences intercepted at least 45 missiles and nine drones overnight. Smoke was seen rising near the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Manama. Iran’s Fars News Agency reported heavy explosions in the Iraqi city of Erbil on Sunday morning, with thick black smoke rising from a fire at Erbil airport. An oil tanker was attacked about five nautical miles off the coast of Masandam in Oman, in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, the country’s maritime security center said. The vessel was called “Skylight” and flew the flag of Palau, a small island nation in the western Pacific. It was not immediately clear who attacked the vessel.
The US-based monitoring group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said at least 133 civilians were killed and 200 injured during US-Israel strikes on Iran on Saturday, documenting incidents across 18 provinces. Iran confirmed the assassination of 86-year-old Khamenei in a joint Israeli-American airstrike that targeted his office in Tehran on Saturday.
Iranian state media also announced the deaths of several senior officials, including the Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi; Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh; Revolutionary Guards Chief Mohammad Pakpour; and Head of the Defence Council Ali Shamkhani, who were killed during a defence council meeting. The semiofficial Fars news agency reported that several relatives of Khamenei were also killed, including a daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and grandchild.
This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” Trump said. Iran’s cabinet vowed that this “great crime will never go unanswered,” and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever, targeting Israeli and American bases. “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a televised address Sunday. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”
“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” Trump fired back in a social media post. “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!” Thousands gathered in central Tehran to mourn Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989. Dressed in black and carrying his portrait, mourners chanted “death to America” and “death to Israel.”
Protests also erupted beyond Iran’s borders. Demonstrators attempted to storm the US embassy in Karachi and tried to enter Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy is located. At least one protester was killed, and several others were wounded in clashes. Thousands also rallied in Indian-administered Kashmir in support of Iran.
The attack on Iran opened a new chapter in US intervention and carried the potential for retaliatory violence and a wider war, representing a startling flex of military might for an American president who swept into office on an “America First” platform and vowed to keep out of “forever wars.”
The assassination of Khamenei in the second Trump administration’s assault on Iran in eight months appeared certain to create a leadership vacuum, given the absence of a known successor and because the supreme leader had final say on all major policies during his decades in power. He led Iran’s clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centres of power in the governing theocracy.
Iran quickly formed a council to govern the country until a new supreme leader is chosen, and the Iranian government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei and a jurist from the Guardian Council, Iran’s constitutional watchdog, are in charge during a “transitional phase” following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported, citing Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to the supreme leader.
The joint US-Israeli attack, which officials say was planned for months, started Saturday during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan and at the start of the Iranian workweek. It followed stilted negotiations and threats from Trump. Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorization. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the administration had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance
Iran hit with more strikes after Khamenei’s death.. Trump issues new warning
