Iran news recap: Khamenei dead as picture of body shown to Donald Trump

26 mins ago08:47 Ciaran McGrath

An Iranian state news agency has confirmed the death of another senior official in the strikes which killed Ayatollah Khamanei.

Tasnim, posting on X, said: "Martyrdom of the Head of the Police Intelligence Organization: Following yesterday's enemy attacks, Major General Shahid Rezaian, head of the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Police Command (FARAJA), attained the honor of martyrdom."

39 mins ago08:34 Ciaran McGrath

Iranian state television has announced the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with the news delivered live on air as the country continues to respond to the joint US-Israel strikes on Tehran.

Iran confirmed that the 86-year-old Supreme Leader was killed when his compound was hit during the attacks, which triggered a series of retaliatory missile launches across the Middle East overnight.

The death was read out by a state news anchor who became visibly emotional during the broadcast. In the clip, he recited a statement from Iran’s National Supreme Council and struggled to continue as he wiped away tears.

The presenter said: “God is great. God is great. With deep sorrow, it is announced to the nation of Iran that Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, was martyred today in a joint criminal attack by the United States and the Zionist regime.”

48 mins ago08:25 Ciaran McGrath

Two more explosions have rocked Iran's capital, Tehran, according to reports on social media.

Local residents also reported hearing "continuous and unrelenting blasts" in the southern coastal city of Bandar Abbas.

58 mins ago08:15 Ciaran McGrath

At least six people were killed in clashes with police Sunday after hundreds of protesters stormed the US Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, authorities said.

The violence came after the United States and Israel attacked Iran and killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said at least eight people were also wounded in the clashes.

Police in Karachi said the protesters were later dispersed and the situation was under control.

Karachi is the capital of southern Sindh province.

1 hour ago08:01 Ciaran McGrath

Iran has launched sustained retaliatory missile and drone barrages against Israel in the hours after a major joint US–Israeli strike on Iranian targets, triggering continuous air-raid sirens and forcing millions into shelters across Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and beyond as civil aviation halts and national emergency measures take hold.

At least one Israeli civilian has been killed and dozens more wounded in central Tel Aviv and other urban areas from incoming projectiles that evaded interceptions, while emergency services report scores of additional injuries nationwide.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it is conducting its most “devastating offensive” in history, targeting Israeli military sites and roughly 27 US bases across the Middle East with waves of ballistic missiles and armed drones.

The strikes come in direct retaliation for the February 28 US–Israeli operation against Iranian leadership and missile infrastructure that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior commanders, collapsing earlier diplomatic efforts.

Regional airspaces remain closed, and governments from Gulf states to Jordan are on high alert as the conflict escalates, with additional casualties and damage being assessed amid fears of a broader conflagration.

Firefighters douse flames in Israel (Image: AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg)

1 hour ago07:51 Ciaran McGrath

Writing on X, Lindsey Graham - an ally of US President Donald Trump - criticised Europe for what he say as its "pathetically soft" response to Iran.

The US Senator said: "To say I’m disappointed in the joint statement by leaders from France, Germany and the UK regarding Operation Epic Fury is an understatement. It is so sad to see western democracies lose their passion for justice and a sense of right and wrong the further away from their shores the event occurs.

"Everyone in Europe is rightly impassioned about Russia invading Ukraine. But when it comes to the long suffering people of Iran, Europe has been pathetic. To the leaders of France, Germany and the UK: the Iranian people are not wrong to demand the end to their oppression from the bloodthirsty ayatollah’s regime that has American and European blood on their hands.

"You collectively are the ones that are wrong by refusing to come to the Iranian people’s aid and adding insult to injury, you’re suggesting we should continue to negotiate with religious Nazis. It is pathetic. How far Western Europe has fallen.

"To the Iranian people: President Trump heard your cries. Help has arrived in large measure. To our European allies: you have gone pathetically soft and lost your zeal for confronting evil apparently unless it’s on your front porch. So sad."

2 hours ago07:40 Ciaran McGrath

Thousands of pro-regime supporters flooded the streets of Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad on Sunday, dressed in black and waving Iranian flags while chanting "death to America" and "death to Israel" in grief-stricken demonstrations following the US-Israeli airstrikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In Tehran's Inkilap Square and Isfahan's thoroughfares, crowds carried portraits of the 86-year-old leader, demanding "intiqam" or revenge, as state media portrayed the gatherings as displays of national unity amid a 40-day mourning period.

US President Donald Trump hailed the strikes as eliminating "one of the most evil people in history" and urged Iranians to reclaim their nation, while Iran vowed fierce retaliation with missile barrages on US bases and Israeli targets.

The attacks, which followed months of brutal crackdowns on nationwide protests claiming thousands of lives, have created a leadership vacuum, with a council now governing until a new supreme leader is selected.

People gather to mourn the death of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

2 hours ago07:33 Ciaran McGrath

Jubilant crowds erupted across Iran late on Saturday, tearing down statues of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dancing in the streets. It comes after US and Israeli airstrikes killed the 86-year-old cleric, plunging the Islamic Republic into chaos and igniting fears of wider war.

In the southern city of Galleh Dar in Fars province, video footage verified by multiple outlets showed protesters toppling a monument bearing Khamenei's likeness amid cheers and flames.

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2 hours ago07:29 Ciaran McGrath

Donald Trump has issued a dire warning to Iran amid concern that the Islamic Fundamentalist Republic would target US and Israeli forces in the Middle East.

He posted on Truth Social: "Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!"

2 hours ago07:27 Ciaran McGrath

A picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's body has been presented to both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to reports.

The Iranian dictator was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes on Saturday, and Trump and Netanyahu launched attacks on targets across the country.