Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to Iranian intelligence.
The Ayatollah’s body was found in the rubble on Saturday after as many as 30 bombs hit his residence in Tehran, riddled with shrapnel wounds.
Photographic evidence of the successful assassination was shown to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump told NBC News the White House believed it was “correct” that Khamenei and a “large number” of the regime’s leaders were killed.
The death is the worst blow to the Iranian regime since the 1979 revolution, when the ayatollahs took power.
The Ayatollah’s body is said to have been found in the rubble of his Tehran compound
The United States and Israel urged the Iranians to force regime change, and some Iranians took to the streets of Tehran on Saturday night to celebrate.
Israel launched an attack on Iran on Saturday morning with an attack on Khamenei’s residence.
Iran fired missiles and drones at civilian targets across the Middle East on Saturday night as it launched an offensive against the Islamic regime.
Tehran retaliated with drones and ballistic missiles, with attacks on a five-star hotel in Dubai, several residential buildings in Bahrain and Kuwait’s international airport.
Photo credit: X/@adrianopmi and @ruperttait
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander-in-chief Mohammad Parkpour and Defense Minister Amir Nasirzadeh were also killed in attacks expected to last several days.
The attack, the largest military overflight in the history of the Israeli Air Force, targeted military bases, nuclear facilities and government buildings across Iran.
Trump monitored the operation from his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he announced the start of the operation dubbed “Epic Fury.”
He said: “For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted ‘Death to America’ and launched an endless campaign of bloodshed.
“Its threatening activities directly endanger the United States, our military, our overseas bases and our allies around the world. They can never possess nuclear weapons.”
Trump addressed the Iranian people, demanding that the military lay down their weapons or face death, and called on the Iranian people to revolt and take control of the government.
“I say your moment of freedom is here tonight,” he said in a video posted on Truth Social.
Photo credit: Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump
Trump said the joint strikes would continue “as long as necessary,” setting off a wave of attacks that threaten stability in the region.
As explosions rocked Tehran and other cities, the regime vowed “devastating” retaliation, firing missiles at Israeli and U.S. bases in five neighboring Gulf states.
Iran struck the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, the nation’s most vulnerable base, while debris rained down from the skies over the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan.
Jordan said it “disposed” of 49 drones and ballistic missiles.
Image source: X/@Osinttechnical
Dubai’s luxury Fairmont Palm hotel went up in flames on Saturday night after it was hit by a Shaheed suicide drone.
Four people were injured and there are fears a Briton staying at the 391 luxury-room hotel may be among those injured or even killed.
Flights across the Middle East were disrupted and anti-aircraft fire roared over Dubai. One person was killed by shrapnel from an Iranian missile strike in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, state media said.
The United States has amassed a massive strike force in the region while urging Iran to halt its nuclear program amid talks that failed to reach a deal on Thursday.
Sir Keir Starmer, under pressure to explain whether the UK would allow the US to use Diego Garcia, a military base in the Chagos archipelago, said the UK had no role in the attack.
“Iran can end this now,” he said in a televised address. “They should avoid further attacks, abandon their weapons programs, and cease the appalling violence and repression against the Iranian people.”
Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped hundreds of munitions, targeting about 500 targets at multiple locations in Iran, including air defense systems and missile launchers.
One of the attacks targeted a site in Tabriz in western Iran. The site was used by Iran’s surface-to-surface missile force, which had planned to fire dozens of missiles at Israeli civilians from the site.
The timing of the U.S. attack was no coincidence. Trump’s approval ratings are at their lowest and Republicans are at risk of losing the House of Representatives as the midterm elections approach.
With control hanging in the balance, the president hopes a decisive blow against the foreign aggressor will help his party retain power.
Thick smoke rises over Tehran after U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran – AP
Iran’s Defense Ministry said it would provide weapons and equipment to continue its operations “until the enemy is defeated.”
“We will continue to provide complete weapons and equipment support to the brave warriors of the great Iranian nation to continue Operation Zhenno IV and defeat the enemy,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil export route, a move that could cause global oil prices to rise.
These attacks could disrupt global markets, especially if Iran makes commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz unsafe. By 2025, one-third of global maritime oil exports will pass through the strait.
Netanyahu later spoke with Trump by phone, but details of the decision to strike Iran remain a closely guarded secret.
Israeli officials told Axios that Israel targeted Khamenei’s sons, although intelligence suggested they survived the attack.
Trump told Axios on Saturday that there were several diplomatic “exits” to the operation, which continued into Sunday.
He said: “I could take over the whole thing for a long time, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians ‘see you in a few years if you start rebuilding’ [your nuclear and missile programmes]’. Regardless, it would take them several years to recover from the attack. “
After the attack, Trump spoke with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, according to White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt.
As of Saturday evening, the president had yet to reveal to the public the details of the strike and the urgency behind it.
Iran has said it wants to avoid war but retains the right to enrich uranium. It does not want to discuss other issues, such as its long-range missile program or its support for armed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran claims it has not enriched uranium since June, but it has blocked international inspectors from visiting sites bombed by the United States last summer in Operation Midnight Hammer.
Satellite photos analyzed by the media showed new activity at two of the sites, suggesting Iran was trying to assess and possibly recycle the material.
Trump has threatened military action but has refrained from taking action after Iran recently cracked down on protests over economic discontent that turned into a nationwide campaign against the ruling clergy. More than 7,000 people are estimated to have died.
Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenock support attacks on Iran, while left-wing politicians claim they violate international law.
Reform Party leader Farage urged the Prime Minister to allow the use of British military bases and “support the Americans in this vital battle.”
Conservative leader Mrs Badenock said she “stands with our allies” as the United States and Israel “respond” to the Iranian threat.
The U.S. Secret Service and FBI say they are on high alert against attacks by Iranian proxies and sleeper cells, which they fear have infiltrated across the United States.
As darkness fell over the area, U.S. and Israeli air forces began the second phase of the mission, continuing the attack into the night.
Videos circulating on social media showed Iranians celebrating the death of their supreme leader, cheering in the streets despite a near-total internet blackout.
Additional reporting by Lily Shanager
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