US president Donald Trump claims Iran’s supreme leader is dead after a massive US-Israel military strike, as Tehran retaliates with a regional missile barrage.
JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead. He made the statement after Israel and the United States launched an unprecedented large-scale attack aimed at bringing down the Islamic Republic.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “many signs that this tyrant is no longer alive”.
Addressing the people of Iran, Netanyahu urged them to “join forces, to overthrow the regime and to secure your future”. The strikes prompted Tehran to fire a retaliatory missile barrage across the Middle East.
Iranian authorities urged residents to evacuate the capital, Tehran. The country’s Red Crescent society said at least 201 people were 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 could not independently verify the toll. The UAE reported one civilian dead and damage from missiles in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Blasts from Tehran’s retaliatory salvo and air defences intercepting it 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”.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei told the BBC he was “not in a situation to confirm anything” regarding Khamenei’s health. 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, promised an “unforgettable lesson” to international oppressors.
Tehran residents were going about their usual business when the strikes began. Security forces quickly flooded the streets and shops pulled down their shutters, 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 were cut. The Red Crescent said 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces were affected.
Across Israel, city streets stood deserted as residents took cover in shelters. Emergency services reported two people injured from the retaliatory strikes.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards radioed ships to say the strategic Strait of Hormuz was shut, according to the EU’s naval mission and Iranian media. The attacks came after Trump expressed frustration at Iran’s stance in nuclear negotiations.
In an earlier video address, Trump told Iranians the “hour of your freedom is at hand”. 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 said the operation was “taking place at a completely different scale” than a previous conflict in June. A military statement called it the largest military air raid in the history of the Israeli Air Force.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their missiles struck the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and other American bases. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE and Israel all closed their airspaces to civilian traffic.
Residents in the Emirati, Qatari and Bahraini capitals heard multiple rounds of explosions. In Qatar, people fled in panic as a falling missile plunged into a residential neighbourhood.
In Abu Dhabi, golfers were stunned to see dozens of projectiles flying overhead. In Bahrain’s capital Manama, residents were evacuated from the district housing the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
“When we heard the sounds, we cried out of fear,” said a 15-year-old student in the area. Two witnesses told AFP they heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from Dubai’s famed man-made island, The Palm.
The foreign ministry of Oman called “on all parties to immediately cease military operations”. It urged the UN Security Council to impose a ceasefire.
The Sun Malaysia
