DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran launched missiles targeting Israel and Gulf Arab states Sunday, retaliating for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten further escalation. The strikes have thrown the future of the Islamic Republic into question and raised the risk of regional instability.
Iran acknowledged 86-year-old Khamenei’s death in Saturday’s attack on his Tehran office. “Here’s the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” Trump said. Iran’s Cabinet vowed the “great crime will never go unanswered,” and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened its “most intense offensive operation” ever, targeting Israeli and American bases.
“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address Sunday. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.” Trump responded via social media: “Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, Yet, Given that IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”
Alongside the killing of Khamenei, an airstrike on a meeting of Iran’s defense council killed Iran’s army chief of staff and defense minister, as well as the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser to Khamenei. Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed at the meeting. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who previously took over as the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its past commander in a 12-day war last June, also died. Ali Shamkhani, a long-time figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, was also among the dead.
Following the initial strikes, Iran launched missiles and drones toward Israel, and U.S. Military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. The Israeli military reported intercepting dozens of Iranian missiles fired at Israel. The Magen David Adom rescue service reported one fatality in the Tel Aviv area Saturday night from an Iranian missile attack.
Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defense fire was heard over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital, with explosions continuing into Sunday morning. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the UAE capital killed one person, according to state media, and debris from aerial interceptions caused fires at the city’s main port and on the facade of the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel. Saudi Arabia reported that Iran targeted its capital and eastern region, but the attacks were repelled. Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles.
The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran disrupts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a third of worldwide oil exports in 2025. The attack on Iran represents a significant escalation of U.S. Intervention, and a demonstration of military force from an American president who campaigned on an “America First” platform.
The killing of Khamenei, the second U.S.-led assault on Iran in eight months, has created a leadership vacuum, given the absence of a known successor and the supreme leader’s ultimate authority over all major policies during his decades in power. He led Iran’s clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the governing theocracy. Iran has formed a council to govern the country until a new supreme leader is chosen.
Eyewitnesses in Tehran told the Associated Press that some residents were celebrating, cheering from rooftops and blowing whistles. Mourners raised a black flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, and the Iranian government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death. The semiofficial Fars news agency reported, citing unidentified sources, that several of Khamenei’s relatives were also killed, including a daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and grandchild.
Officials stated the joint U.S.-Israel operation was planned for months, beginning Saturday during Ramadan and the start of the Iranian workweek. The U.S. Military said targets in Iran included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense systems, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields, reporting no U.S. Casualties and minimal damage at U.S. Bases despite “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.” Democrats have criticized Trump for taking action without congressional authorization. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the administration had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance.
Tensions have soared in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades, seeking a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program while the country struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests. Though Trump had previously claimed to have obliterated Iran’s nuclear program, a senior U.S. Official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran was rebuilding infrastructure and had developed the capability to produce high-quality centrifuges. Iran had maintained its right to enrich uranium, stating it had not enriched since June, but had blocked international inspectors from visiting bombed sites. Satellite photos analyzed by the AP have shown new activity at those sites, suggesting Iran is attempting to assess and potentially recover material.
Israel stated the operation had been planned for months with the United States, with Air Force pilots striking “hundreds of targets across Iran.” Targets included Iran’s military, symbols of government, and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation. In southern Iran, at least 115 people were reported killed when a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, according to the local governor. U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said officials were looking into reports of the school strike. An Iranian diplomat told the United Nations Security Council that hundreds of civilians were killed and wounded in the strikes. Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported at least 15 people were killed in the southwest, quoting the governor of the Lamerd region as saying a sports hall, two residential areas, and a hall near a school were hit.
