New Delhi: In a dramatic escalation in the Middle East, the United States and Israel carried out extensive airstrikes on Iran on Saturday, killing Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader for nearly four decades.
Iranian state media later confirmed his death.
Announcing the development on social media, Donald Trump described Khamenei as “one of the most evil people in history” and said the operation delivered justice for victims of Iranian actions worldwide.
The strikes, launched early Saturday, targeted Tehran and multiple other locations across Iran during daylight hours on the first working day of the Iranian week.
Iran retaliates
Iran responded swiftly, firing missiles toward Israel and at American bases across the Middle East. Explosions were reported in Dubai and Kuwait City, while officials in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain said incoming missiles were intercepted within their airspace.
The United States Central Command said American forces had repelled “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks,” reporting no casualties among U.S. personnel and only minimal damage to installations.
Casualties mount
According to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, more than 200 people were killed in the strikes. Iran’s state news agency Islamic Republic News Agency reported that at least 57 students from a girls’ school in southern Iran were among the dead.
A CENTCOM spokesperson said the military was reviewing reports of possible civilian harm resulting from the ongoing operations.
Washington signals continued pressure
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the joint operation as “the most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation in history,” vowing that Iran would never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
Trump said the campaign — dubbed Operation Epic Fury — was aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear capability and protecting American interests. He acknowledged the possibility of U.S. casualties but called the mission necessary for long-term security.
Speaking to CBS News, Trump maintained that a diplomatic path with Iran “easily” remained possible, while declining to identify who would lead Iran after Khamenei’s death.
Regional tensions spike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the joint assault sought to eliminate what he called the threat posed by Iran’s clerical leadership.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the strikes as “wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate,” accusing the US and Israel of hitting defensive and civilian facilities even as Tehran was engaged in diplomacy.
Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen warned it would resume attacks on Red Sea shipping, raising fears of wider disruption to global trade.
Oil route at risk
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass — had been closed amid the hostilities, a move that could push up international crude prices.
The latest military action marks the eighth overseas intervention of Trump’s second term and appears to depart from his earlier campaign pledge to end prolonged foreign wars.