Iran Vows Revenge After Killing Of Its Top Leader And Trades Strikes With Israel In Widening War

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran vowed revenge Sunday murder of religious leader and they exchanged strikes with Israel. expanding war It emerged as a result of a surprise bombardment by the USA and Israel. The US military said three soldiers were killed, the first known American casualties in the conflict.

The explosions in Tehran sent a large cloud of smoke into the sky in the area where government buildings are located. Iranian officials say more than 200 people have been killed since the US and Israeli attacks began. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders. Iranian Israel has vowed to “non-stop” attack Iran’s leaders and military, while Israel has launched missiles at targets in Israel and Gulf Arab countries in retaliation.

in Israel, loud explosions Sounds caused by missile strikes or intercepts could be heard in Tel Aviv. Israeli rescue services said nine people were killed and 28 injured in an attack on a synagogue in the town of Beit Shemesh, bringing the total death toll in the country to 11. Police said 11 people were still missing after the attack as rescue workers sifted through the rubble.

Meanwhile, the US military said B-2 stealth bombers hit Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. US President Donald Trump said on social media that nine Iranian warships, “some relatively large and important”, had been “destroyed” and sunk and that the Iranian navy’s headquarters had been “substantially destroyed”.

The attacks and counter-attacks underlined that Khamenei’s killing and Trump’s decades-old calls for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic carry the potential for a protracted conflict that could engulf the Middle East. It also represents a surprising show of military might for an American president who took office on an “America First” platform. He vowed to stay away from “endless wars.”

There was little sign in Tehran that Iranians were heeding Trump’s call to rise up against the government.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to The Associated Press, speaking anonymously for fear of retaliation, said the streets where people took shelter during the heavy air strikes were largely deserted. Paramilitary BasijThey said the organization, which played a central role in crushing the protests, set up checkpoints across the city.

At least 165 people were killed and dozens injured in an attack on a girls’ school in southern Iran, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The Israeli army said that it was not aware of the attacks in the region. The US military said it was reviewing the reports.

The US military said three soldiers were killed and five were seriously injured, without providing further details. It was stated that a few people were slightly injured and suffered concussions.

Attacks by Israel and the USA during the 12-day war last June greatly weakened Iran’s air defense, military leadership, and nuclear program. However, the killing of Khamenei, who has ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum and increases the risk of regional instability.

The CIA had been monitoring the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Khamenei, for months, according to a person familiar with the operation who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The person said the intelligence was shared with Israeli officials and the timing of the attacks was adjusted in part because of that information.

The New York Times had previously reported on the CIA’s efforts ahead of the Israeli-U.S. attacks.

A new leadership council has begun its work, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a pre-recorded message. The country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the new religious leader would be chosen “within a day or two.”

A senior White House official said Sunday that “potential new leadership” in Iran has suggested they are open to talks with the United States. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal governance negotiations.

Eyewitnesses said some people in Tehran were seen cheering from rooftops as the news of Khamenei’s death spread. Others mourned as a black flag was hoisted over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

“You crossed our red line and you must pay the price,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a televised speech. “We will deal such devastating blows that you will have to beg.”

Trump warned against retaliation.

He said in his social media post, “THEY BETTER DON’T DO THIS.” “IF THEY DO THAT, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

Hundreds of people died in a sign of how the attack could fuel regional unrest. raided the US Consulate In the port city of Karachi, Pakistan. Authorities said police and paramilitary forces used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd, and at least nine people died in the clashes.

As U.S. and Israeli strikes hit Iran, the Islamic Republic retaliated with missiles and drone strikes on Israel and nearby Arab Gulf states that host U.S. forces.

An air war could shake global markets, especially if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. Approximately 20% of the oil traded in the world It passes through the vital waterway.

While Iran struck US bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the attacks also hit the outside of military installations, including a hotel in the Emirate’s Dubai and Kuwait’s international airport. At least four people lost their lives in attacks on Gulf countries.

Iranian foreign minister Araghchi blamed the United States and Israel for such attacks starting the war. He said he had spoken to his counterparts in the Gulf countries and urged them to pressure the United States and Israel to end this.

Israel will launch a “non-stop air train” attack against Iran’s military and leadership targets, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday. The US military said it hit an Iranian warship that is now sinking in a port in the Gulf of Oman.

Flights to the Middle East started broke downand air defense fire thundered over Dubai. The commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates has long attracted business and foreigners by promoting itself as a safe haven in an unstable region.

Like supreme leaderKhamenei has had the final say on all major policies since 1989. He led Iran’s religious establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the ruling theocracy.

An Iranian medical expert in northern Iran said he and his colleagues spent the early hours of Sunday celebrating Khamenei’s death indoors because armed security forces were still heavily deployed in the city.

The doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said there were forces stopping and questioning people celebrating in their cars, but there were no gunshots.

“It was one of the best nights of our lives, if not the best night,” the doctor said in a voice message he sent from the city of Rasht. In fact, he said, “It was actually my first time smoking. It was a very, very good time. We didn’t sleep at all. We don’t even feel tired.”

Tensions have risen in recent weeks as the Trump administration develops a new strategy. The largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East for decades. When the president wanted a deal that would restrict Iran’s nuclear program, he insisted the country was struggling with nuclear problems. growing opposition do not follow protests across the country.

Democrats condemn Trump’s decision Action without congressional authorization. The White House said it had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance.

Although Trump declared that Iran’s nuclear program was destroyed in last year’s attacks, the country was rebuilding the infrastructure it lost, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss Trump’s decision-making process. The official said intelligence showed Iran had developed the ability to produce its own high-quality centrifuges, an important step in developing the highly enriched uranium needed for weapons.

Iran says it has not become richer since JuneHe reserved the right to do so while saying that his nuclear program was entirely peaceful. It also prevented international inspectors from visiting sites bombed by the United States. Satellite photos analyzed by AP Two of these sites showed new activity.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Boak of West Palm Beach, Florida; and Tucker from Washington. Associated Press writers Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Amir Radjy in Cairo, Aamer Madhani, Konstantin Toropin and David Klepper in Washington, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv Israel, Farnoush Amiri in New York, David Rising in Bangkok and AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.