The United States and Israel launched waves of strikes Saturday against targets in Iran, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic.Here are the latest developments.- Iran leader killed -Trump said in a social media post that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems” and had been killed.”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.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’s Mizan Online website 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 it intercepted a second wave of Iranian strikes, after a first killed one civilian in Abu Dhabi.The country’s defence ministry later 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.Dubai airport was damaged and four staff were injured in an “incident”, it said.AFP correspondents in the Saudi capital Riyadh heard loud explosions, as well as in Bahraini capital Manama and across Qatar’s Doha.Qatar’s defence ministry said it had intercepted several missile attacks targeting the Gulf state.A drone struck Kuwait’s international airport and a base housing US personnel was targeted. Three Kuwaiti soldiers and 12 other people were wounded, authorities said.Saudi Arabia condemned Iranian attacks targeting its neighbours, but made no mention of attacks on the kingdom.Jordan said it had intercepted 13 ballistic missiles.Explosions were also heard near the US consulate in Iraq’s Erbil, according to AFP journalists.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 -French President Emmanuel Macron called for an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting over the escalation.Oman’s foreign minister, who has been mediating talks between Tehran and Washington, said he was “dismayed” by the violence.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Canberra supports the US action against Iran, while the UK expressed fear the military strikes could blow up into “a wider regional conflict”.The European Union said developments in Iran were “perilous”.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”.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 strikes as a “dangerous adventure” that could spark regional “catastrophe”.Pakistan condemned the “unwarranted attacks against Iran”, and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas slammed the strikes on its backer.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 -Qatar’s civil aviation authority said the Gulf state’s airspace had been temporarily closed. Iraq closed its airspace while Syria closed part of its airspace for 12 hours.Russia cancelled commercial flights to both Iran and Israel “until further notice”.Air France cancelled its Tel Aviv and Beirut flights, while Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines were among several carriers that suspended flights to the region.Israel closed Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Saturday as a security measure.
The United States and Israel launched waves of strikes Saturday against targets in Iran, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic.Here are the latest developments.- Iran leader killed -Trump said in a social media post that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems” and had been killed.”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.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’s Mizan Online website 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 it intercepted a second wave of Iranian strikes, after a first killed one civilian in Abu Dhabi.The country’s defence ministry later 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.Dubai airport was damaged and four staff were injured in an “incident”, it said.AFP correspondents in the Saudi capital Riyadh heard loud explosions, as well as in Bahraini capital Manama and across Qatar’s Doha.Qatar’s defence ministry said it had intercepted several missile attacks targeting the Gulf state.A drone struck Kuwait’s international airport and a base housing US personnel was targeted. Three Kuwaiti soldiers and 12 other people were wounded, authorities said.Saudi Arabia condemned Iranian attacks targeting its neighbours, but made no mention of attacks on the kingdom.Jordan said it had intercepted 13 ballistic missiles.Explosions were also heard near the US consulate in Iraq’s Erbil, according to AFP journalists.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 -French President Emmanuel Macron called for an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting over the escalation.Oman’s foreign minister, who has been mediating talks between Tehran and Washington, said he was “dismayed” by the violence.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Canberra supports the US action against Iran, while the UK expressed fear the military strikes could blow up into “a wider regional conflict”.The European Union said developments in Iran were “perilous”.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”.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 strikes as a “dangerous adventure” that could spark regional “catastrophe”.Pakistan condemned the “unwarranted attacks against Iran”, and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas slammed the strikes on its backer.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 -Qatar’s civil aviation authority said the Gulf state’s airspace had been temporarily closed. Iraq closed its airspace while Syria closed part of its airspace for 12 hours.Russia cancelled commercial flights to both Iran and Israel “until further notice”.Air France cancelled its Tel Aviv and Beirut flights, while Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines were among several carriers that suspended flights to the region.Israel closed Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Saturday as a security measure.
