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Iranians were experiencing a mix of shock, grief and joy after the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Israeli and US strikes extended into a second day Sunday.The attacks unleashed on Saturday killed Khamenei and top military leaders and prompted Iranian authorities to retaliate with strikes on Israel and across the Gulf. At the first reports of Khamenei’s death, many Iranians erupted into cheers from apartment buildings in the capital Tehran while others blared car horns and blasted music in the streets.”We are on the road and celebrating the news,” said a woman in her 40s who had left the capital and headed west as strikes continued to pound Tehran.In a reflection of the continued sense of wariness from Iranians about speaking freely of their rulers, none of the people AFP interviewed were willing to give their full name.”Last night… people in all neighbourhoods shouted for joy and took to the streets. This joy was while we were in the middle of a missile war,” a Tehran resident in her 30s said.She said Khamenei’s hands were stained with blood, and recalled that Iranian security forces crushed mass protests in January. “We all realised that there is no way, absolutely no way, to reform this regime except through foreign intervention,” she said.”They have taken the Iranian people hostage.”Others were stunned into silence.”I am in shock. I cannot believe what happened,” said a Tehran resident in his 30s.Khamenei, who had final say on all state matters, had been Iran’s supreme leader for nearly four decades.- Weeks of mourning -Around 5:00 am on Sunday, Iranian state TV announced Khamenei’s death, saying he had “fulfilled his lifelong dream” of martyrdom.Within hours, Iranian mourners dressed in black took to the streets in Tehran’s central Enghelab Square.Some were angry while others wept.The grieving crowds chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” and demanded revenge as they carried portraits of Khamenei, religious banners and the Iranian flag.Similar gatherings took place in the southern city of Shiraz, Yazd and Isfahan in central Iran, Tabriz in the northwest and elsewhere, according to images broadcast on state TV.Iran announced a 40-day mourning period and seven days of public holidays.As dawn broke, large areas of the usually busy capital were deserted and shops remained shuttered.There were security checkpoints and police patrolled the streets in numbers that appeared larger than during last year’s 12-day war. The street lights were switched off on Tehran’s main roads Sunday night, and apartments appeared dark, suggesting many people had left the capital.In northern Tehran, usually lively cafes and restaurants were closed. An AFP journalist at the northern Islam Qala border crossing saw the Iranian flag completely lowered, and a black flag raised.The journalist said the crossing was open and people and trucks were passing through normally.An Iranian cargo driver said he could not see things turning out well and had been “really worried” since he heard of Khamenei’s death.”The situation right now in our country is not good,” the driver, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told AFP.”I don’t know what will happen in the future, but it’s not a good future for us Iranians,” he said.”The Americans have destroyed everywhere they’ve gone in the world,” he said, accusing them of wanting to take over Iran’s energy and mineral resources.- ‘Names will change’ -US President Donald Trump threatened on Sunday to unleash “force that has never been seen before” and urged Iran’s people to rise up and seize power.Iran’s leadership has remained defiant.President Masoud Pezeshkian described Khamenei’s assassination as a “declaration of war” against Muslims, and particularly against Shiites.Top security chief Ali Larijani announced transition plans and warned Iran would hit Israel and the United States with a force “they have never experienced”.Umut, a director of a mining company, spoke to AFP after travelling overnight and passing through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing into northeastern Turkey. The 45-year-old Iranian had been in Tehran as news of Khamenei’s death began filtering through. Although video footage showed some residents of Tehran celebrating on their balconies and at their windows, Umut said “there were no protests on the streets”, just a rush on fuel stations.Umut said he was only planning to go home when the situation had died down, “if the streets are safe and there are no explosions at night”. He did not expect Khamenei’s death to usher in a transformation.”Just the names will change, but I think the regime will stay on,” Umut said.

The US suffered its first casualties of the war with Iran, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to intensify strikes on Tehran in the coming days.On day two of the war, US President Donald Trump said 48 Iranian leaders had been killed in the US-Israeli attacks, which he said where “moving along rapidly”.Here are the latest developments.– First US casualties –Three members of the US military have been killed and five others wounded in the operation against Iran, the Pentagon said, the first American deaths in the campaign that killed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader.”Three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury,” said US Central Command (CENTCOM).– Strikes to ‘intensify’ –Netanyahu vowed to intensify strikes on Tehran in the coming days as the army announced it had called up 100,000 reservists. “I have issued instructions for the continuation of the campaign,” he said in a video statement. “Our forces are now striking at the heart of Tehran with intense power, and this will only escalate in the days ahead.”– Iranians ‘want to talk’ –Trump said he would be talking to Iranian leaders but was vague on the timing and noted that much of the country’s leadership was dead.”They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner,” Trump was quoted as saying by The Atlantic.He told Fox News that 48 Iranian leaders had been killed and that the results of the offensive so far were “very positive”.- Iran kills 9 in Israel -Iran strikes on Israel killed at least nine people in the city of Beit Shemesh, first responders said. Another 28 were wounded, the Magen David Adom emergency service said. Police said there was a direct hit on a building.In the UAE, the defence ministry said three people had been killed and 58 wounded since Iran’s strikes began Saturday. In Kuwait, one person has been killed and 32 wounded since the start of Iran’s retaliation campaign, the health ministry said.- Sinking oil tanker -Two ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, one off Oman and the other off the UAE, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said.Iranian state television said an oil tanker was struck and was sinking after trying to “illegally” pass through the strait, which Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have declared closed. Major container shipping companies including MSC and Maersk have suspended navigation in the region.- US sinks Iranian warship -US forces struck and sank an Iranian warship in the Gulf of Oman at the start of its operations against the Islamic republic, the American military said Sunday.”An Iranian Jamaran-class corvette was struck by US forces during the start of Operation Epic Fury. The ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier,” US Central Command posted on X.- Iran denies targeting neighbours -Iran’s powerful security chief denied Tehran was targeting its neighbours, insisting its retaliation was aimed at US bases. Gulf countries were to hold virtual talks late Sunday to discuss a unified response, two Gulf diplomats told AFP. – NATO adjusting forces -NATO’s top commander in Europe said Sunday he was “closely” following developments in Iran and the Middle East to defend against “potential threats”.US General Alexus Grynkewich “has and will continue to adjust NATO’s very strong force posture to ensure the security of its 32 member nations and to defend the Alliance from potential threats”, said NATO on X.- Israel hits Tehran -The Israeli army announced “large-scale” strikes targeting the “heart of Tehran” for the second day running. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz also hailed Khamenei’s killing as a “turning point in the war”.- Ayatollah tapped for council -Iran formed an interim leadership council following Khamenei’s death.A mullah, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, was named to sit on it, alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and the head of the judiciary. The body will rule until a new permanent leader is selected.In a recorded video statement on state TV, Pezeshkian said the council had “started its work”.- Iran retaliates -Pezeshkian said the killing of Khamenei was a “declaration of war against Muslims”, vowing vengeance. Iranian security chief Ali Larijani promised to hit the US and Israel with a force never seen before.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to have attacked the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which the Pentagon denied.AFP correspondents heard blasts in Dubai, east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, across Bahrain’s capital Manama and in Qatar.- Deadly protests erupt -Crowds gathered in Iran’s south to call for vengeance following the killing of Khamenei in US and Israeli attacks, Iranian media reported. Similar gatherings took place in Tehran and the central city of Yazd. Hundreds of protesters in Iraq tried to storm the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad where the US embassy is located.In Pakistan, nine people were killed as hundreds of protesters tried to storm the US consulate in Karachi.Several thousand Shia Muslims joined demonstrations in Indian-administered Kashmir, many chanting anti-Israel and anti-US slogans.- More deaths announced -Iran’s police intelligence chief Gholamreza Rezaian was killed during US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic, Iranian media reported Sunday.So to was its armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi along with other senior generals, state TV reported Sunday.It listed the name of Mousavi along with defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and others.Iran’s judiciary confirmed the chief of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, and another top security adviser, Ali Shamkhani, had also died in the strikes.- UN nuclear agency to meet -The United Nations’ nuclear agency will hold an extraordinary meeting on Iran on Monday.The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the meeting was at the request of Russia, a key ally of Tehran. burs-db/jj

They moved to the UAE expecting a non-stop VIP experience, but instead Dubai’s influencers found themselves under a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones. Since early on Saturday, foreigners in the United Arab Emirates have been sharing videos of plumes of smoke rising above the skyscrapers and expressing their shock that the usual haven of stability was under attack.”OMG!” Israeli wellness influencer Hofit Golan exclaims repeatedly in a video that shows a building near her apartment in flames.British content creator Will Bailey was updating his Instagram and TikTok followers by filming the trails of smoke left by missiles and interceptor rockets in Dubai’s skyline.”That was metres away from us,” he says in a video filmed near the Fairmont hotel, which was hit by a strike on Saturday.Other influencers were less composed, with France’s Maeva Ghennam who, waving her passport around, told viewers she “screamed hysterically” when she heard a strike.”France, protect us!” said Ghennam, who rose to fame via reality television.Some viewers have criticised the “total disconnect” of the “bling-bling world” from the geopolitical realities of the Middle East, where Iran was retaliating for a massive wave of US-Israeli attacks.”We’re seeing a ‘back-to-reality’ moment for influencers who settled” in Dubai, according to journalist Emma Ferey, whose 2024 novel “Emirage” chronicles the Emirati capital’s influencer scene.According to Ferey, in this “under-informed world… everything seems easy”.Now, “the bubble is starting to burst”, she said.- ‘Talking politics’ -On Sunday, the French embassy in the UAE reiterated to its nationals in the country that it was not possible to leave because Emirati airspace remained closed until further notice.It urged French citizens there to “strictly follow the safety instructions: stay at home (and) keep away from windows, doors and open areas”.Dubai has in recent years become a hive of influencers, entrepreneurs and millionaires, enticed by the business-friendly and income tax-free city and the lavish lifestyles on offer.The city of nearly four million inhabitants — 90 percent of whom are foreigners — also hosts one of the busiest airports in the world.It appeared to have been hit on Saturday, with officials saying four staff were injured and a concourse damaged during “an incident”.In a video posted on Saturday on a beach full of sunbathers, real estate consultant Deepti Mallik struck a reassuring tone, telling viewers that there is “nothing to be scared of”.”I feel this country takes the security of its residents and tourists very seriously,” she said.Ferey said “You can sense anxiety among influencers… even though they know perfectly well that talking politics — or worse, geopolitics — means risking losing followers or being hit by a wave of harassment”.Content creators are “contractually bound” to brands, which obliges them to keep posting no matter what, according to the journalist.”Even if it’s just for shampoo, the video has to go out. It’s this disconnect that can come across as indecent in the eyes of the public — to keep making money while the world is burning.”Benjamin Samat, a French influencer living in Dubai, took to Instagram to lash out at “those who on social media are rejoicing that the French are going through this”.Samat added that he wouldn’t want “anyone to be woken up by missiles exploding in the sky in the middle of the night”.

Shattered glass lay strewn across the streets of a residential area of Tel Aviv on Sunday, the day after an Iranian missile strike left one woman dead, but residents insisted they could withstand further attacks.The US and Israel launched a wave of strikes against Iran on Saturday, sparking a rapid retaliation from Tehran which continued to send people running to shelters under wailing sirens and overhead blasts on Sunday.At the site of Saturday’s missile strike, the shell of a crumpled apartment building with its windows blown out overshadowed a huge crater, where heavy machinery and teams in high visibility vests were working to clear the rubble.Wires and twisted metal hung from the building and charred tree trunks lay on the ground.More than twelve hours after the hit, the area still smelled faintly of burning.Further down the leafy street, rows of apartment blocks stood with their windows shattered.Around 100 metres (yards) from the blast site, the apartment of Ariel, a 32-year-old finance worker, lay littered with debris from the impact.”It’s not nice to see your home broken, all my memories are here. But we know that in the war with all the bombs, it can happen,” he told AFP.”It’s not nice, but it’s OK, we’ll be strong, we continue.”Such scenes of devastation are fresh in the memories of all Israelis, but particularly residents of the Tel Aviv area, which was badly hit during the previous confrontation between the two arch-foes last June.Israel’s sophisticated air defence systems have shot down many missiles fired from Iran, but Saturday’s strike served as a stark reminder that interceptors do not provide guaranteed protection.”We’re not scared, we’re used to it,” Ariel explained, saying he hoped that Israel was “going to win and change the situation in the Middle East because we need that this was worth it, all the apartments, all the civilians hurt”.Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said a woman was killed and at least 21 were injured on Saturday night in the Tel Aviv area.- ‘Always have hope’ -While in Tel Aviv on Sunday, AFP journalists heard sirens signalling an incoming missile attack from Iran, prompting dozens of people nearby to run for cover in a nearby shelter.While underground, 56-year-old Gil, a local resident, recalled how he had performed the same grim routine the night before.”We were here and we heard a big noise, a big boom, and we realised it’s something in the neighbourhood,” he told AFP.”We started getting some notifications from people staying at their homes that it had happened and there was glass all over and when we went out, it smelled like something was on fire and it was a bit scary.”But all the Israelis AFP spoke to expressed resilience, saying that seeking cover from missile attacks was something that they had grown used to.They may need to endure it for some time, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed to launch the “most ferocious” operation in history following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.”They want to bring it on, then bring it on,” said 23-year-old Uri inside the Tel Aviv bomb shelter.”You never get used to it, but I think we’ve toughened up and we understand there is no choice,” he told AFP.”If we have to go 30 times… for tomorrow to be better, we’ll do it each time because we always have hope.”

Bashar al-Assad, Nicolas Maduro and now Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In the last 18 months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost several key foreign allies — and there is little that the Kremlin, bogged down in Ukraine, can do about it.Tehran has stood by as one of Russia’s closest backers throughout Moscow’s four-year offensive and the Kremlin had earlier called for restraint amid reports of imminent US military action in Iran. But as Washington and Israel launched waves of air strikes Saturday that killed the Islamic republic’s longtime supreme leader Khamenei, Russia saw another key ally — after the leaders of Syria and Venezuela — toppled.In January, US President Donald Trump ordered an attack in which US forces snatched Venezuela’s leftist leader Maduro.Washington has also drawn close to Syria’s new authorities since the fall of al-Assad in late 2024 that dealt a major blow to Russia’s influence in the region.Russia’s “Vladimir Putin will find himself in a difficult position,” Alexander Baunov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said on social media.”Twice in two months, Putin has failed to fulfill the role of savior, at least of the life of an allied dictator. And the killer is his friend Trump,” Baunov wrote.In 2025, replying to AFP’s question, Putin said he did “not even wish to discuss” the idea Israel might assassinate Iran’s Khamenei.- ‘Domino of deposed dictators’ -When the killing was confirmed by Iranian state television on Sunday, the Kremlin published a message with condolences that Putin had sent to Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.The Russian leader praised Khamenei as “an outstanding statesman” and said his “assassination” was “carried out in a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law”.But the Russian authorities have not officially announced any concrete assistance to Tehran.A day before, amid the ongoing US and Israeli strikes, it was Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi who phoned Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, according to Moscow’s read-out of the call.Lavrov condemned the attack and pledged Russia’s readiness “to facilitate the search for peaceful solutions based on international law, mutual respect, and a balance of interests”.There was no mention, however, of any military aid despite a strategic partnership treaty aimed at bolstering ties — including in military matters — both countries signed in 2025.Besides the loss of its key ally Khamenei, the consequences for Moscow of the ongoing conflict in Iran were still difficult to assess.Russian lawmaker Anatoly Wasserman, interviewed by the newspaper MK.ru, suggested that in the short term, the war could benefit Russia if it leads to a sharp rise in oil prices — boosting key revenues for its state coffers that fund its invasion of Ukraine.In the longer term, Wasserman predicted “major problems” for the United States and Israel if the Iranian authorities “resist” the strikes.For now, Ukraine, who repeatedly accused Iran of providing Moscow with weapons including the Shahed drones and short-range missiles, rejoiced at what it said was a sign Russia’s waning influence.”Russia is not a reliable ally even for those who rely heavily on it,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media on Sunday.”The domino of deposed dictators must continue, and Putin’s fall one day is inevitable,” Sybiga said.