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Jubilant Iranian Americans on Saturday took to the streets from Boston to Los Angeles to cheer the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and voice hope for a brighter future for their homeland.In Los Angeles, home to a massive Iranian diaspora, singing and ululating marchers carried flags of shah-era Iran and posters bearing US President Donald Trump’s image, with some wearing shirts that said “Free Iran.”Trump announced Saturday that the strikes had killed Khamenei — and Iranian state television confirmed the news hours later — though some marches started earlier in the day.”It’s mixed feelings,” Fartach Razmjoo told AFP at a gathering in Canada’s largest city Toronto.”It seems this brutal regime is going to be gone, but at the same time I am very concerned about the people in Iran.”Razmjoo said he hoped the “people in Iran now get the courage to get in the street and try to overthrow” the government.Trump made similar calls, urging Iranians to rise up and “take over your government.”But at an anti-war protest in New York, people expressed skepticism about the strikes, which Trump has vowed to continue “as long as necessary.”Layan Fuleihan, a 36 year-old activist, told AFP: “Bombing people does not help them free themselves.””If Trump cared about democracy or if he cared about the well-being of Iranian people, he would have lifted the brutal sanctions on the Iranian economy that have made it impossible for everyday working Iranians to find enough to put food on their table,” she said.Brent Gray, a 27-year-old engineer in the US capital Washington, said Trump was “taking military action without any congressional approval.”Anti-war activist group ANSWER called for nationwide demonstrations Monday, denouncing “an unprovoked, illegal war.”- ‘Very complicated feelings’ -The scene couldn’t have been more different in Boston, where people sang and stomped on an Iranian flag in the street, while waving American flags and at least one Israeli flag.”Iranians can finally get to live the free life that they want,” Navid Aghasadeghi told AFP.”We don’t call it a war. We call it the Iran Rescue Operation,” said Sherry Yadegari, a 42-year-old artist in the southern city of Atlanta.Azi Adibi, 45, also in Atlanta, said she was worried about family in Iran, having been unable to reach her brother since “the internet got cut off.”Roozbeh Farahanipour, a restaurant owner in Los Angeles’s Westwood neighborhood — sometimes known as “Tehrangeles” or Little Persia — told AFP he has “very complicated feelings.””I saw the footage of people dancing in the streets,” the 54-year-old said. “That reminded me of the first days of the war in Iraq. At the time, the people of Iraq were also dancing in the streets.””I hope the scenario will be different this time,” he said.burs-nro/sst

The United States and Israel launched waves of strikes Saturday against targets in Iran, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic.US President Donald Trump said that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead, though there was no confirmation from Tehran.Here are the latest developments.- Iran leader killed -“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.”Heavy and pinpoint bombing… will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST”, Trump said.Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the campaign sent a message to those who would do harm to Americans: “We will hunt you down and we will kill you.”Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s late shah, hailed the reported killing of Khamenei, saying the Islamic republic was entering the “dustbin of history.”The joint US-Israeli operation began earlier on Saturday with smoke rising over Tehran after strikes that Israel said were pre-emptive.Shortly after, Trump announced US combat operations against Iran, with the goal of “eliminating imminent threats”.Israel’s military said it targeted multiple sites where senior Iranian officials had gathered in Tehran, and launched strikes against Iranian missile launchers.It said 200 fighter jets had taken part in the “extensive attack”, hitting more than 500 targets.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks killed senior Iranian officials and warned that thousands more targets would be struck in the coming days.The Iranian judiciary said 108 people died in a strike on a girls school in Minab, citing a provincial official who blamed Israel.AFP was unable to access the location to verify the toll or the circumstances surrounding the incident.- Missile, drone wave -In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and other American bases in the Gulf, after launching a first wave of missile and drone attacks at Israel.Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said a woman was killed and at least 21 injured in the Tel Aviv area.The Israeli military said it deployed search and rescue teams to multiple locations across the country following reports of fallen projectiles.- Gulf explosions, strait closed -Explosions were reported across the Gulf region.The United Arab Emirates said that two people were killed in Abu Dhabi, including a Pakistani civilian.The country’s defence ministry said that 137 missiles and 209 drones were fired at its territory.Witnesses in Dubai said they heard an explosion and saw missiles streak across the sky, and witnesses told AFP they heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from the man-made island The Palm. Four people were injured.AFP correspondents in the Saudi capital Riyadh heard loud explosions, as well as in the Bahraini capital Manama and across Qatar’s Doha.Qatar’s defence ministry said it had intercepted several missile attacks targeting the Gulf state.Two people were killed in air strikes on an Iraqi military base housing the powerful pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah, which threatened the US with a response.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world’s oil and gas passes.- Allied support, warnings -The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting over the fighting, with Iran’s envoy accusing the US and Israel of committing a possible “war crime” by attacking civilians.UN chief Antonio Guterres said military action in the Middle East “carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control”.Oman’s foreign minister, who has been mediating talks between Tehran and Washington, said he was “dismayed” by the violence.The European Union said developments in Iran were “perilous”.Gulf states condemned Iran’s “cowardly” attacks in a joint statement read by Bahrain’s ambassador during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.Russia slammed the US-Israeli strikes as a “dangerous adventure” that could spark regional “catastrophe”.Another Iranian ally, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, called on countries and people in the region to stand against Israel and the US.- Airspace closures, flights nixed -Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE and Israel all closed their airspaces to civilian traffic, at least in part, and multiple airlines cancelled flights to the Middle East. Russia cancelled commercial flights to both Iran and Israel “until further notice”.

The United States and Israel on Saturday defended their attacks on Iran, which called resulting civilian deaths a “war crime” during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.”The international community has long affirmed a simple and necessary principle: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” said US ambassador Mike Waltz, pointing to past UN resolutions ignored by Tehran.”That principle is not a matter of politics, it’s a matter of global security, and to that end, the United States is taking lawful actions,” he added. Referencing Iran’s recent deadly crackdowns on protesters, Waltz said that Iran’s presence at Saturday’s emergency meeting in New York “makes a mockery of this body.” “But where the UN lacks moral clarity, the United States of America will maintain it,” he added. Israeli ambassador Danny Danon condemned the “hypocrisy” of some Security Council members who criticized the joint US-Israeli attack, but not the retaliation by Iran. “We did not act of impulse. We did not act of aggression. We acted out of necessity because the Iranian regime left no reasonable alternative,” Danon said. Iranian counterpart Amir Saeid Iravani denounced the “war crime” of civilian deaths, notably of more than 100 children at Minab School in southern Iran. “It is regrettable that some members of this body, in a blatant double standard, disregard the flagrant act of aggression committed by the US and Israel on Iran, and condemn Iran for using its inherent right to self-defense in the UN Charter,” he said.Iravani notably did not comment on or confirm the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which US President Donald Trump announced moments before the meeting. The mixed views highlighted a divided Security Council. Russia and China only condemned the US-Israeli strikes, while others principally targeted Iran. Some were more careful to simply call for deescalation.Gulf states condemned Iran’s strikes against them as “cowardly” in a joint statement read by Bahrain’s ambassador.”We hold the government of Iran fully responsible for these attacks, and we reject any justifications or explanations to justify this hostile behavior or to manipulate rules of international law,” said Jamal Fares Alrowaiei on behalf of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Syria and Jordan. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that military action in the Middle East risked triggering uncontrollable consequences in the region.”Military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world,” he told the Security Council.

Explosions rocked Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah man-made island and drone debris caused a fire at the Burj Al Arab ultra-luxury hotel as waves of Iranian missiles targeted the UAE on Saturday, authorities said. Dubai airport, the world’s busiest for international traffic, and Jebel Ali seaport also suffered damage as the unprecedented attacks hit some of the city’s major landmarks and revenue-earners.Two witnesses on the Palm — an upscale, palm tree-shaped residential and leisure development — heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from a five-star hotel.The Dubai media office confirmed an “incident” in a building on the Palm Jumeirah caused a fire and injured four people.Hours later, a second blast exploded close to the same building, after what looked like a drone plunged from above, another witness saw.The United Arab Emirates said 137 missiles and 209 drones were fired at its territory by Iran, most of them intercepted by defence systems.Debris from an intercepted drone sparked a fire at the base of the Burj Al Arab, the sail-shaped building sometimes touted as the world’s first seven-star hotel.”Authorities confirm that a drone was intercepted and debris caused a minor fire on the Burj Al Arab’s outer facade,” the Dubai Media Office wrote on X.”Civil Defence teams responded immediately and brought the incident under control. No injuries have been reported.”An AFP correspondent saw a police car deployed at the entrance of the hotel, which is blocked to pedestrians and vehicles.Four staff were wounded at Dubai airport as a concourse sustained “minor damage”, the facility’s governing body said. The UAE had already closed its airspace, meaning most passengers had left the airport.In Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, one person was killed and seven wounded in an “incident” at Zayed International Airport, its governing body said.Falling debris from an interception also set off a blaze at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, which hosts US warships and is capable of handling aircraft carriers.”Dubai Civil Defence teams responded immediately and are continuing their efforts to fully extinguish the fire,” the Dubai Media Office posted on X. Dubai’s airport and seaport account for about 60 percent of the emirate’s revenues, official estimates show.Roughly 90 percent of the UAE’s population consists of foreigners and Dubai is its biggest city, with a carefully curated image for opulence and glamour.Iran launched strikes on all the oil-and-gas rich Gulf countries except for Oman, a mediator in US-Iran talks, in reprisal for attacks by the US and Israel.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989 and sworn enemy of the West, was killed Saturday in the opening salvo of a massive US and Israeli attack, President Donald Trump said, as he urged the overthrow of the Islamic republic.Cheers could be heard on Tehran’s streets after reports first emerged from Israel of the death of Khamenei, as plumes of black smoke hovered over the district where he usually resides, witnesses told AFP.The attack came weeks after Iranian authorities ruthlessly put down mass protests, killing thousands.”Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump said in a statement.Trump vowed no let-up in the strikes until the fall of the Islamic republic as he urged security forces to stand down.”This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” Trump said.Iran responded to the attack with a flurry of missile and drone strikes across the Middle East, killing at least one person in Abu Dhabi and another in Tel Aviv as explosions rocked the showcase cities of Gulf Arab monarchies.There was no immediate confirmation from Iranian authorities of Khamenei’s death. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier told NBC News that Khamenei was alive “as far as I know” and foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei told the BBC he was “not in a situation to confirm anything”. Speaking before Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of Khamenei that there were “many signs that this tyrant is no longer alive” and said to Iranians, “This is your time to join forces, to overthrow the regime and to secure your future.”The Israeli army said that Ali Shamkhani, a top advisor to Khamenei, and the head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, were both also killed.One apparent survivor, Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, vowed defiance.”The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors,” he said.Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late pro-Western shah deposed in the 1979 Islamic revolution, called on Iranians to “stay vigilant” and then to take to the streets in massive numbers when he issues a call.Hailing the reported demise of Khamenei, only the second supreme leader of the cleric-run state after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Pahlavi said, “With his death, the Islamic Republic has effectively come to an end and will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.”Pahlavi, who has spent most of his life in exile near Washington, has presented himself as a transitional figure to a secular democracy although he does not enjoy support from all the opposition. – Strikes across Iran -Iranian authorities urged residents to evacuate Tehran, a capital city of 10 million. The country’s Red Crescent society said that at least 201 people had been killed in the strikes and more than 700 wounded.The Iranian judiciary said one strike that hit a school in the south killed 108 people, although AFP was unable to access the site to verify the toll or the circumstances surrounding the incident.Meanwhile in Israel, city streets stood deserted as residents took cover in shelters while the blasts of intercepted Iranian missiles reverberated overhead.Israeli emergency services said that an Iranian missile strike killed a woman in the Tel Aviv area and that some 20 others were wounded.Residents and AFP correspondents in the Emirati, Qatari and Bahraini capitals heard multiple rounds of explosions from Iran’s retaliatory strikes.Smoke poured from US bases in the UAE and Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.”When we heard the sounds, we cried out of fear,” said Jana Hassan, a 15-year-old student who was near the strike in Bahrain. “I will never forget the sound of those loud blasts.” In Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, golfers were stunned to see dozens of projectiles flying overhead. One civilian, a Pakistani, was killed by falling debris in Abu Dhabi, authorities said.Two witnesses told AFP they heard an explosion and saw a plume of smoke rising from Dubai’s famed man-made island The Palm, with authorities reporting four injured.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also contacted ships to announce the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for oil from the Gulf, although it was not clear if the threat was being enforced.- Unprecedented scale -Tehran residents had been going about their usual business when the strikes began. Security forces quickly flooded the streets, shops pulled down their shutters and few pedestrians risked venturing out, an AFP journalist saw. “I saw with my own eyes two Tomahawk missiles flying horizontally toward targets,” a Tehran office worker told AFP before communications and internet access were cut. It was the first US military action of this scale apparently aimed at toppling a foreign government since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.Israel’s army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said the operation was “taking place at a completely different scale” than the 12-day war it fought against Iran in June, which the US briefly joined. An Israeli military statement said it was the largest military air raid in the history of its air force.Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE and Israel all closed their airspaces to civilian traffic, at least in part, and multiple airlines cancelled flights to the Middle East. Trump’s envoys had negotiated in Geneva on Thursday with Iran’s foreign minister.Trump said that Iran’s leaders had not compromised sufficiently on its disputed nuclear program, although he made clear after the attack that the goal was regime change and not a nuclear deal.Oman had been mediating and had on Friday reported what it called a breakthrough, with Iran said to agree not to stockpile any uranium.Oman called Saturday for an immediate ceasefire. Iran also called on the UN Security Council, which held an emergency session Saturday and where the United States holds veto power, to act to stop the attack.burs/sct/sst

The White House on Saturday released a photo of US President Donald Trump and a handful of his top advisors monitoring the progress of joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran.Trump has announced that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the attacks, but there is no confirmation from Tehran.The picture shows Trump, in a suit jacket, white shirt and a white “USA” baseball cap, seated with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles at a table, with a partially obscured map marked “Operation Epic Fury” behind them.All of their faces are solemn. They are in a building with wooden ceiling beams, in an area that appears to be partitioned off with black curtains, with at least one security agent on the perimeter.It was not immediately clear where the area was located, and the post on the White House’s X account only says: “President Donald J. Trump Monitors U.S. Military Operations in Iran: Operation Epic Fury, February 28, 2026.”Trump is currently in Florida. Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was monitoring events from his Mar-a-Lago estate.In another photo, General Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, appears to be speaking to those in attendance.A separate image shows Vice President JD Vance in the White House Situation Room in Washington, with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other “Cabinet secretaries” at his side.Energy Secretary Chris Wright appears to have his back to the camera.The vice presidential seal adorns the wall behind the meeting table. Vance is wearing a suit and white shirt, without a tie.It has become customary for presidents to release pictures of themselves in the Situation Room at momentous times during their White House terms. Former president Barack Obama released a Situation Room view when Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a US special forces raid in Pakistan in 2011.But Trump prefers to spend time at Mar-a-Lago, meaning he was not in the Situation Room on this occasion, or when US special forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Caracas in January this year.

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead, after Israel and the United States launched an attack of unprecedented scale aimed at bringing down the Islamic republic.Cheers could be heard on Tehran’s streets after reports of the death of Khamenei, Iran’s paramount leader since 1989, as plumes of black smoke hovered over the Pasteur district where he usually resides, witnesses told AFP.”Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said there were “many signs that this tyrant is no longer alive”.Addressing the people of Iran, the arch-enemy of Israel and the United States since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Netanyahu said, “This is your time to join forces, to overthrow the regime and to secure your future.”The strikes prompted Tehran to fire off a missile barrage across the Middle East, with injuries and at least one death reported in explosions that rocked showcase cities in Gulf Arab monarchies.Iranian authorities urged residents to evacuate the capital, a city of 10 million, while the country’s Red Crescent society said that at least 201 people had been killed in the strikes and more than 700 wounded.The Iranian judiciary said one strike that hit a school in the south killed 108 people, although AFP was unable to access the site to verify the toll or the circumstances surrounding the incident.The UAE reported one civilian dead and damage from missiles in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as blasts from Tehran’s retaliatory salvo and air defences intercepting it also echoed over Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier told NBC News that Khamenei was alive “as far as I know”, adding that “all high-ranking officials are alive”. Also asked about Khamenei’s health, foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei told the BBC he was “not in a situation to confirm anything”, but “the whole system, the whole nation is focused on defending (our) national integrity”.In a sign that the fighting was far from over, Netanyahu said “thousands” of targets would be hit over the coming days, while Iran’s top security official vowed a fierce reprisal.The Israeli army said that Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Khamenei, and the head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, were both killed.Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said: “The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors.”- ‘Barbaric’ -Tehran residents had been going about their usual business when the strikes began. Security forces quickly flooded the streets, shops pulled down their shutters and few pedestrians risked venturing out, an AFP journalist saw. “I saw with my own eyes two Tomahawk missiles flying horizontally toward targets,” a Tehran office worker told AFP before communications and internet access were cut. The Red Crescent said 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces were affected by the strikes. Across Israel, city streets stood deserted as residents took cover in shelters while the blasts of intercepted Iranian missiles reverberated overhead. Emergency services reported two people injured.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, meanwhile, radioed ships to say the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway, was shut, according to the EU’s naval mission and Iranian media.- ‘Eliminating imminent threats’ -The attacks came after Trump expressed frustration at Iran’s stance in negotiations over its nuclear and missile programmes.In an earlier video address, Trump told Iranians the “hour of your freedom is at hand”, urging them to rise up and “take over your government”.It was the first US military action of this scale apparently aimed at toppling a foreign government since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.Israel’s army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said the operation was “taking place at a completely different scale” than the 12-day war it fought against Iran in June, which the US briefly joined. A military statement called the operation “an extensive attack”, saying it was the largest military air raid in the history of the Israeli Air Force”.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their “missiles and drones have struck the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and other American bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as military and security centres in the heart of the occupied territories (Israel)”.Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE and Israel all closed their airspaces to civilian traffic, at least in part, and multiple airlines cancelled flights to the Middle East. – Blasts across Gulf -Residents and AFP correspondents in the Emirati, Qatari and Bahraini capitals heard multiple rounds of explosions from Iran’s retaliatory strikes.In Qatar, people fled in panic as a falling missile plunged into a residential neighbourhood, erupting in a fireball as it hit the street.And in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, golfers were stunned to see dozens of projectiles flying overhead. In Bahrain’s capital Manama, residents were hurriedly evacuated from the Juffair district housing the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. “When we heard the sounds, we cried out of fear,” said Jana Hassan, a 15-year-old student who was in the area. “I will never forget the sound of those loud blasts.” Two witnesses told AFP they heard an explosion and saw a plume of smoke rising from Dubai’s famed man-made island The Palm, with authorities reporting four injured.The foreign ministry of Oman, a mediator in recent US-Iran talks, called “on all parties to immediately cease military operations” and urged the UN Security Council to impose a ceasefire.burs/sct/sst

A barrage of Iranian strikes caused havoc across the Gulf on Saturday, shattering the aura of peace so highly prized by the oil-rich region’s wealthy rulers. Missiles streaked across clear desert skies as smoke plumed from US bases in Manama and Abu Dhabi and loud thuds shook high-rise windows in Dubai.In Qatar, dozens of people fled in panic as a falling missile plunged into a residential neighbourhood, erupting in a fireball as it hit the street.Flames and smoke erupted from a luxury hotel on Dubai’s Palm, the landmark, palm tree-shaped development of land reclaimed from the sea, after a loud bang sent passers-by scurrying for cover.And in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates’ capital, golfers enjoying a quiet round were stunned to see dozens of projectiles flying overhead. The Gulf monarchies have worked hard to stay on the periphery of Middle East conflict, relying on their stability to attract business, trade and tourism. The staunch US allies have carefully courted Iran, their powerful Shia neighbour. Saudi Arabia, a rival heavyweight, mended ties with Tehran after a seven-year rupture in 2023.Given their reputation for calm, Saturday’s sudden attacks on US military bases caused widespread shock among the Gulf’s diverse, expat-heavy populations. In Bahrain’s capital Manama, residents were hurriedly evacuated from the Juffair district housing the US navy’s Fifth Fleet, whose base was hit in the attack. “When we heard the sounds, we cried out of fear,” said Jana Hassan, a 15-year-old school student, who was visiting a friend in the area. “We didn’t know what to do… I will never forget the sound of those loud blasts.” In Dubai, the Middle East’s commercial hub with the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, residents looked up to see missiles surge through the sky.”It was a rumble and then a bang,” one resident told AFP, asking not to be named.- ‘Very scary and very loud’ -An American resident of Qatar’s capital Doha, who also asked not to be identified, heard two blasts as she was driving home, where she “heard several more and the glass was shaking”. She said she was “furious” about the instability, after 20 years of living in Qatar. Her teenage sons, she said, are “asking me if we will have to go back home”. Qatar was targeted twice last year, when Iran mounted a telegraphed attack on the Al Udeid US base in June and Israel struck a Hamas meeting in Doha in September. Those attacks were a Gulf rarity at the time. The UAE had not been troubled since a deadly assault by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in 2022, whose attacks on Saudi Arabia have also stopped in recent years.”As a Lebanese, I am traumatised,” a 31-year-old expat and mother of two living in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, told AFP. “We came to the Gulf because it’s known to be safer than Lebanon. Now I don’t know what to do or how to think really,” added the woman, who did not want to be named. Another Riyadh resident, from Jordan, said: “It was honestly very scary and very loud. “I was just walking out with my little boy when we suddenly heard the blast. People around us were looking up at the sky, trying to understand what was happening.”It’s not something you expect in Riyadh.”burs-th/ds/dcp

The US-Israeli strikes launched on Iran Saturday could become an extended operation, with strategic goals both multiple and complex — aiming to decapitate the Islamic republic and eviscerate its security capabilities.In the 12-day war in June last year, the Israelis, backed by the Americans, carried out targeted strikes aimed at destroying key Iranian nuclear sites.This time “we are embarking on an operation that is unfolding on a completely different scale, more complex and more complicated” than in June, Israel’s army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir warned.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said US and Israeli installations involved in the operation were “legitimate targets” — before Iran’s state televison announced a new wave of missiles had been fired at US bases in the Gulf.”We are in a large-scale military campaign that, in my opinion, is going to last several days, or even several weeks,” said David Khalfa, co-founder of the Atlantic Middle East Forum research centre.- ‘Existential’ phase -He described the attacks as a “multi-domain offensive” aimed “both at disrupting the regime’s chain of command, shaking the repressive apparatus at its foundations, and provoking at the very least an internal transition, if not outright regime change”.The joint US-Israeli strikes targeted Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — still alive, according to Tehran — as well as the chief of staff and head of the Revolutionary Guards, the regime’s ideological army.On top of that, there have been strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile programme.”This is an all-out decapitation campaign and an effort to wear down Iran’s capabilities,” Khalfa told AFP.”It is a direct blow to the state’s security architecture and governing apparatus,” said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at British think tank Chatham House.”This new stage of conflict is existential and clearly about regime survival. It is also unlikely to end quickly.”Araghchi appeared to be dampening down an escalation by announcing on US television that he had explained to Gulf capitals that Tehran had “no intention of attacking them” but was targeting US bases on their soil “as an act of self-defence”.Although there is currently no communication with Washington, “if the Americans want to talk to us, they know how they can contact me,” the Iranian minister said, adding he was “clearly interested in de-escalation”.- Potential conflagration -According to Khalfa however, the Iranians are already “in horizontal escalation”.At a moment when the regime’s survival is at stake, “they are prepared to regionalise the conflict by targeting American bases in the Arabian-Persian Gulf and by striking Israel as well”, he argued.The danger is that Arab countries “might decide to allow the Americans to launch strikes from their bases, or even join the fray themselves because they consider that the Iranian regime has crossed red lines by attacking them on a massive scale,” said Khalfa.At the same time, Iran’s proxies could also push for a regional escalation that would prolong the conflict.Lebanon’s Hezbollah has already called on Saturday for “the states and peoples of the region” to oppose the “aggression” on Iran.Washington itself “risks being drawn into a new conflict in the Middle East with no clear way out”, said Brandan Buck, a researcher at the Washington-based Cato Institute.President Donald Trump “is repeating the same pattern of strategic self-delusion that trapped his predecessors, promising limited action while paving the way for a protracted conflict”, he said.