Iran Israel war LIVE updates: Defence minister, military chief declared dead after Khamenei's killing
US-Israel strikes kill Iran’s Supreme Leader as retaliatory attacks hit Gulf states, airspace shuts across the region, and oil markets brace for volatility
More than 24 hours after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes targeting Iran’s leadership, Iranian state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the airstrikes along with several other senior regime figures.
Israel said it carried out another wave of strikes on Iran on Sunday. Iranians faced mounting uncertainty as US President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would face severe consequences if it escalates retaliation.
Iran’s top security official said a temporary leadership council would be established on Sunday, according to state media reports.
Witnesses reported loud explosions for a second consecutive day in Dubai and over Qatar’s capital Doha after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on neighbouring Gulf states.
Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly across Israel early Sunday, with multiple explosions heard in Tel Aviv.
The conflict has led to the closure of several major airports in the region, including Dubai — the world’s busiest international travel hub — while Tehran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transit route handling nearly a fifth of global consumption, triggering expectations of a sharp rise in oil prices.
Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Google News, Instagram
Join our official telegram channel (@nationalherald) and stay updated with the latest headlines
Israel releases footage showing strike on Tehran's defence headquarters
Defiance to the end: The life and legacy of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The now confirmed killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US–Israeli airstrikes on Sunday, 28 February marks the dramatic end of one of the most consequential political careers in the modern Middle-East (West Asia to us). For more than three decades, Khamenei stood at the apex of Iran’s political and ideological system, guiding the Islamic Republic through wars, sanctions, internal dissent, and intensifying confrontation with the West.
According to multiple international media reports and Iranian state sources, Khamenei died during the latest round of coordinated military strikes carried out by Israel with support from the United States, amid a rapidly escalating regional conflict.
In what would become his final public message, delivered shortly before the attack, Khamenei rejected a demand for “unconditional surrender” issued by US President Donald Trump. His words, broadcast on Iranian state television, carried the tone of a leader accustomed to confrontation.
Crowd of mourners in Iran's Isfahan hit streets after Khamenei's death
Explained: Tactical anatomy of Israel–US strike on Iran and Tehran’s counteroffensive
The strikes followed intelligence assessments that Iran had accumulated uranium enriched beyond 90 per cent — near weapons-grade level — at sites including Fordow and Natanz. Israel has long stated it would not permit Iran to cross what it calls the “nuclear threshold.”
Diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Tehran had stalled. The US administration framed the operation as an effort to permanently degrade Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
Death toll rises to 148 in US-Israeli attack on Iranian school
The toll from a devastating joint US-Israeli strike on a girls’ elementary school in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province has climbed to 148, according to local media reports on Sunday, marking one of the deadliest single incidents in the escalating conflict.
As many as 95 others were wounded in the attack, local prosecutor Ebrahim Taheri was quoted as saying by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. The majority of those killed were young pupils, he said, with teachers, school staff and parents who had been present also among the victims — a grim tableau that has sent shockwaves across the region.
Israel faces Iranian missile strikes, Tel Aviv targeted
The Israeli military said Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel, with many intercepted. The Magen David Adom rescue service said Saturday night that a woman in the Tel Aviv area died after being wounded in an Iranian missile attack.
Blasts tear through Dubai, Doha for 2nd day
Loud explosions were heard in Dubai and Qatar’s capital Doha for a second consecutive day on Sunday, witnesses said, as Iran widened its retaliatory strikes.
Two people were injured in Dubai — the Middle East’s largest tourism and trade hub — after shrapnel from intercepted drones fell on two houses, according to a statement from the Dubai Media Office.
Dubai International Airport, the Burj Al Arab hotel and the Palm Jumeirah island also sustained damage. In the Jebel Ali port area, one berth caught fire earlier on Sunday due to debris from an intercepted missile. Iran had earlier said it would target U.S. bases in the region, but strikes have hit multiple locations across Gulf cities.