Iran Update: US and Israel launch new wave of attacks amid threat of escalation
In this iran update, the United States and Israel launched fresh, intensive strikes across Iran on the second day of a military campaign aimed at toppling the government, a push that began Saturday morning and has raised the prospect of wider war as leaders trade threats.
Iran Update: Strikes deepen on second day
On Sunday, renewed violence spread across multiple Iranian cities as the campaign entered its second day. The offensive began Saturday morning with a barrage of missiles and airstrikes, and US President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States would hit Iran "with a force that has never been seen before" if Tehran pursued retaliation following the death of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.
Blast in Tehran struck near key government sites
In Tehran on Sunday morning a huge blast sent a plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground, with the explosion appearing close to the country’s police headquarters, Iranian state television, Tehran’s revolutionary court and a defence ministry building.
The Israel Defense Forces said its air force was striking "in the heart of Tehran, " focusing efforts on destroying Iran’s remaining air defences.
Officials say civilians hit; UN diplomat raises toll
Amir-Saeid Iravani, the Iranian ambassador to the UN, told an emergency security council meeting on Saturday that hundreds of civilians had been killed or injured in the US–Israeli strikes and said the attacks deliberately struck civilian neighbourhoods in multiple cities.
President Trump wrote on social media: "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead. He was unable to avoid our intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do. " Trump also said the goal of the military campaign was regime change and called on "the Iranian people to take back their country. "
Gulf cities and airports hit, flights halted
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, witnesses said. Puffs of white smoke from missile interceptions were glimpsed in the skies over Dubai while billows of dark smoke rose over its port.
Damaging Iranian attacks overnight struck Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel and its airport, which handles more than 1, 000 flights a day, and also hit airports in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. The airport in Dubai, described in the context as the world’s busiest international travel hub, remained shut, along with other major Middle East airports, producing one of global aviation’s most severe disruptions in years.
Warnings of escalation and wider consequences
The joint US–Israel offensive was described as opening a new chapter in US intervention in the Middle East and bringing the prospect of a wider war and months of chaos. The offensive is the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has used military force against Iran.
British defence secretary John Healey said on Sunday morning: "This is a really serious and deteriorating situation, [with] rising risks of increasing Iranian indiscriminate retaliatory attacks, " and he accused Iran of "lashing out. " Analysts have long warned that a war launched against Iran could lead to global economic turmoil.
Local alarms and an incomplete report from Israel
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 situation remains volatile: the campaign began Saturday morning and continued into Sunday, leaders on both sides have signalled possible further action, and officials have warned of escalation in the coming hours and days.
