US/Israel – Iran
(BBC) Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in his office on Saturday morning during a US-Israel attack. Israel says it is attacking targets “in the heart of Tehran”, as Iran resumes its air strikes on Arab Gulf countries. Strikes have been reported in Dubai in the UAE, Qatar’s capital Doha, Bahrain, and Kuwait. US President Trump called Khamenei “one of the most evil people in history” and urged Iranians to “take back their country”. Iran has vowed “the most devastating offensive operation” against US bases and Israel in retaliation – Trump says he would use “force never seen before” in response. In Iran, there are celebrations in several cities, while others mourn in the streets – one Tehran resident tells BBC Persian the “world has become a better place” after Khamenei’s death. What now for Iran’s leadership? In this moment of turmoil, Iranian authorities will want to project stability and a seamless transition, writes our chief international correspondent – Israel and Iran exchange fresh attacks after Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei killed – live updates – BBC News
(Lyse Doucet – BBC) This is a defining moment for the Islamic Republic of Iran. There had been a swirl of reports about the fate of the supreme leader ever since Saturday morning, when it was clear that his residence had been targeted in the first wave of strikes. Satellite images showed significant damage to his compound. The first response from Iran was that he had been taken to a safe place. Then came news that the 86-year-old cleric was to speak on state television, but nothing materialised. By early evening, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address, announced that “there are many signs” that the Supreme leader “is no longer”. – Lyse Doucet: This is an extraordinary moment Iran has been preparing for
(Tom McArthur – BBC) American and Israeli forces have carried out strikes on cities across Iran, in what US President Donald Trump has described as “major combat operations”. Trump called for the Iranian people to rise up and government forces to surrender following what Israel called a “preemptive attack”. He later said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, which was confirmed by Iranian state TV. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it was responding to the strikes by targeting US bases and assets across the Middle East as part of operation “Truthful Promise 4”. This comes after weeks of threats and negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme. Here is how the international community is reacting. – How the world has reacted to US and Israeli strikes on Iran
(Daniel Bush – BBC) In attacking Iran and killing the regime’s supreme leader, US President Donald Trump has made an enormous bet: that he can succeed where past presidents have failed by using American military force to reshape the Middle East. Trump will claim a generational victory if the US succeeds in fully destroying Iran’s nuclear programme and bringing about regime change in Tehran using air power alone, even if there seems to be no clear plan from Washington for what would come after the Islamic Republic. But if the military strike, called Operation Epic Fury by the Pentagon, fails, or sparks a wider regional conflagration that demands ongoing US involvement, Trump could hurt his legacy as well as Republicans’ chances to retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections. – Trump’s bet on Iranian regime change could be his biggest gamble yet
(Sam Woodhouse – BBC) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed on the first day of massive US and Israeli air strikes on Iran, US President Donald Trump has announced. The death of the 86-year-old ruler of the past three decades – one of the longest in the world – was later confirmed on Iranian state TV. Iran has had only two supreme leaders since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It’s an all-powerful office – the supreme leader is head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, including the elite Revolutionary Guards. Khamenei is not quite a dictator, positioned in the middle of a complex web of competing power centres, able to veto any matter of public policy and hand pick candidates for public office. Young Iranians have never experienced life without him in charge. State television has covered Khamenei’s every move. His image is plastered on billboards in public spaces and his photograph is ubiquitous in shops. Abroad, successive Iranian presidents have often hogged the limelight. But, at home, it was Khamenei who pulled the strings. His death, in such violent circumstances, heralds a new and uncertain future, both in Iran and the wider region. – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Iran’s defiant leader’s grip on power ends
(Tom Bennett – BBC) One person has been killed and 11 injured at airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as Iran launched attacks across the Middle East in response to a massive and ongoing attack against it by the US and Israel. Authorities in Abu Dhabi confirmed a drone targeting Zayed International Airport (AUH) was intercepted, leading to “falling debris”, killing one person and injuring seven. Dubai International Airport (DXB) – the world’s busiest by passenger traffic – was damaged in an “incident” that injured four staff, according to authorities. Thousands of flights have been grounded to and from the region, in one of the most serious disruptions to global travel since the Covid-19 pandemic. – One killed and 11 injured at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports as Iran strikes region
(Nardine Saad and Brandon Drenon – BBC) Urging Iranians to overthrow their clerical rulers, the US launched “major combat operations” along with Israel against Iran early on Saturday. The US is calling the operation “Epic Fury”, while the Israelis call it “Lion’s Roar”. US President Donald Trump said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed. It came two days after US-Iranian talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme ended without a deal. Iran launched counter-attacks throughout the Middle East in retaliation to what its foreign minister called an “unprovoked, illegal” attack by the US and Israel. – Why did the US attack Iran? Is the US at war? Here’s what to know
(BBC) The US and Israel have attacked Iran, hitting targets across the country. The office of Iran’s supreme leader in the capital Tehran is among the targets, as well as military sites across the country. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes at Israel and US bases across the region. – In maps: US and Israel strike Iran
(Milena Wälde – Politico) As European leaders raced to respond to the rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, the crisis exposed fault lines inside Europe — and across the Atlantic. American and Israeli forces struck Iranian targets early Saturday following stalled nuclear talks with Tehran. Iran then launched retaliatory attacks across the region, prompting airspace disruptions and military alerts in multiple Persian Gulf states and raising fears of a wider Middle East conflagration. Brussels moved quickly to strike a cautious tone. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on X that the situation was “perilous,” while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed it was “of the utmost importance” to prevent further escalation. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also urged restraint. – EU scrambles for unity as Iran crisis exposes transatlantic rift – POLITICO
(Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing – Politico) Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death could be the most existential threat to Iran’s Islamist regime in its nearly 50 years. But it doesn’t necessarily mean a quick end to the theocracy that controls the country. While Iran has an elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, real power has rested with its supreme leader. The current regime has only seen one other power shift of this magnitude — following the 1989 death of the Islamic Republic’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. – Ayatollah Khamenei is dead. Here’s what that means for Iran’s leadership. – POLITICO
(Eva Hartog – Politico) As Tehran was being pounded by U.S. and Israeli bombs on Saturday morning, its top diplomat dialed Moscow’s number. On the other end of the line, according to an official Russian statement, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov offered his Iranian counterpart sympathy and promised his — verbal — support. – Putin’s friendship has limits — as Iran just found out – POLITICO
(Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing, Jack Detsch, Nahal Toosi and Joe Gould – Politico) Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who oversaw decades of repressive rule and resistance to the United States, was killed after the U.S. and Israel attacked the Islamist regime, according to President Donald Trump, a move that plunges the country’s future into uncertainty. The death of the ayatollah, who was 86, leaves a void atop Iran’s Islamist government in the biggest challenge to its nearly 50-year existence. This marks only the second opportunity for change of a supreme leader since the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989. Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei’s death early Sunday morning Tehran time. Khamenei’s successor was not immediately clear. – Iranian supreme leader killed in airstrike, leaving power vacuum atop regime – POLITICO
(Eric Bazail-Eimil and Nahal Toosi – Politico) The U.S. and Israel’s joint military operation against Iran could lead to extraordinary power shifts in the Middle East, especially if the strikes help force Tehran’s Islamist regime from power. The campaign could also spur chaos in a region that has known far too little stability. The strikes are the second time since President Donald Trump returned to office that Israel and the United States have conducted military operations on Iranian soil. Already, Tehran has responded with fury. Iran launched missiles at U.S. bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and is likely to conduct further attacks if U.S. and Israeli strikes continue. – What we know — and still don’t — about the Iran strikes – POLITICO
(James Bikales – Politico) President Donald Trump’s joint military attack with Israel against Iran Saturday is the second time his administration has struck a major oil-producing country this year — and this time, the consequences for global markets could be far more severe. Iran, a member of the OPEC cartel, sits at a crucial chokepoint for global energy trade — the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas flows. Movement through that corridor may already be restricted. – US attack in Iran poses bigger risk to energy market than Venezuela – POLITICO
(Sophia Cai, Felicia Schwartz, Eli Stokols and Jack Detsch – Politico) In the end, President Donald Trump lost his patience. For weeks, his administration had pursued a dual-track strategy toward Iran, dispatching envoys Steve Wifkoff and Jared Kushner to negotiate with Iran on its nuclear program while staging the largest military build up in the Middle East since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. But once the USS Gerald R. Ford steamed into the Mediterranean eight days ago, current and former officials say, the balance shifted. – Trump’s patience runs out: Inside the final days before the strike on Iran – POLITICO
