Iran Update: US and Israel Launch New Wave of Attacks as Khamenei Is Declared Dead
Iran Update — The United States and Israel have launched fresh, intensive attacks across Iran on the second day of a military campaign aimed at overthrowing the country’s government, a campaign that accelerated after an Israeli airstrike killed the supreme leader. The escalation has spread across the region, producing civilian casualties, major damage to Gulf aviation infrastructure and sharp rhetoric that raises the risk of further violence.
Iran Update: scope of the campaign and immediate objectives
The joint US–Israeli offensive entered its second day after the campaign began on Saturday morning with a barrage of missiles and airstrikes. US and Israeli strikes have been described as focused on decapitating Iran’s leadership and destroying military capabilities; the stated aim of the campaign is regime change, and calls were made urging the Iranian people to take back their country.
What the US president said and the killing of the supreme leader
The US president, Donald Trump, said on Sunday that the US would hit Iran "with a force that has never been seen before" if Tehran carried out threats to retaliate after the death of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday. Trump wrote that "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead, " and said Iran had been tracked by intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems, adding that, working closely with Israel, there was nothing Khamenei or other leaders killed with him could do.
Damage and civilian toll in Tehran
In Tehran, a huge blast on Sunday morning sent a plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. The explosion appeared close to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television, as well as Tehran’s revolutionary court and a defence ministry building. The Iran ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, told an emergency security council meeting that hundreds of civilians had been killed or injured in the US–Israeli strikes and said the attacks deliberately targeted civilian neighbourhoods in multiple cities.
Military description of strikes on Tehran
The Israel Defense Forces said their air force was striking "in the heart of Tehran, " with efforts focused on destroying Iran’s remaining air defences.
Regional impact: Gulf cities, airports and infrastructure
Iranian retaliation has targeted Israel as well as civilian infrastructure and US military bases across the Arab Gulf states. Loud blasts were heard for a second day on Sunday in Dubai and over Qatar’s capital, Doha. Puffs of white smoke from missile interceptions were glimpsed in the skies over Dubai, while billows of dark smoke rose over its port, one of the busiest in the Middle East.
Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel and its airport, which handles more than 1, 000 flights a day, were damaged in Iranian attacks overnight on sites that also hit airports in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. The airport in Dubai, described as the world’s busiest international travel hub, remained shut, along with other major Middle East airports, causing one of global aviation’s most severe disruptions in years.
Escalation risks and international commentary
Officials and analysts have warned the offensive risks opening a new chapter in US intervention in the Middle East. The joint campaign is characterized as the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has used military force against Iran, with observers warning it could bring months of chaos and the prospect of a wider war in the region.
British defence secretary John Healey said on Sunday morning that "this is a really serious and deteriorating situation, " with "rising risks of increasing Iranian indiscriminate retaliatory attacks, " and accused Iran of "lashing out. " Analysts have long warned that a war launched against Iran could lead to global economic turmoil.
Domestic alarm and an unfinished report from the field
Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly across Israel early on Sunday, with a series of loud explosions heard in Jer — unclear in the provided context. The sequence of events, the scale of damage in specific localities and the full civilian toll remain in flux as the military campaign continues to unfold.
The situation is fluid and marked by direct strikes on Tehran, broad regional impacts across Gulf cities and major disruptions to international air travel, with rhetoric from Washington warning of unprecedented force should Iran retaliate further. Details may evolve as the campaign proceeds.
