US-Israel attack on Iran — Khamenei dead, protests outside White House: Key events in the past 24 hours

🔴 Trump’s appeal to Iranians: In an early message, US President Donald Trump confirmed “major combat operations” were underway in Iran, and explicitly called for the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” and overthrow the Islamic leadership that has held power since 1979.

🔴 Iran launches retaliatory strikes: Soon after the US-Israeli joint operation began, Iran began to launch missiles and drones across US bases — at the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, Israeli residential areas, and targets in many Gulf countries. Attacks were reported on the Fairmont hotel in Dubai, Dubai International Airport, Zayed International Aiport, a naval base in Bahrain, Kuwait’s main airport, and Qatar.

🔴 Flights disrupted: Flights across the Middle East continue to remain disrupted as countries across the region closed their airspaces, leaving thousands of travellers stranded. Damage was reported at Dubai’s international airport, while one person was killed and seven were injured at Abu Dhabi’s international airport.

🔴 Civilian death toll in Iran: At least 108 children were killed in an attack on an Iranian girls’ elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, according to The Guardian. Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Iravani, speaking at the emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, said that hundreds of civilians were killed and wounded in the US-Israel strikes.

🔴 Iran kills one: Israel’s rescue service Magen David Adom late Saturday night claimed that a woman in the Tel Aviv area had died after being injured in an Iranian missile attack, news agency AP reported. It was the first death announced in Israel since the exchange of missiles began on Saturday. The death comes after a heavy barrage of Iranian projectiles targeted central Israel, damaging buildings and setting fires. More than 21 have been injured.

🔴 US bases hit: About 12 hours after the attacks began, the US military reported no US casualties and minimal damage at US bases despite “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks,” AP quoted.

🔴 IAF kills 7 senior Iran officials: The fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force struck military targets across Iran, killing its seven senior officials, in the past 24 hours. These include: Ali Shamkhani, adviser for security affairs; Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps; and Aziz Nasirzadeh, minister of defence. Other officials killed include Saleh Asadi, Mohammad Shirazi, Hossein Jabal Amelian, and Reza Mozaffari-Nia.

🔴 Israel military targets defence systems: Israeli military early Sunday said it carried out strikes in central and western Iran that targeted “ballistic missile array and aerial defense systems,” Reuters quoted. The military said that the strike on array and missile launch infrastructure thwarted dozens of launches towards Israel, as per the report.

🔴 Protests outside White House: Protesters gathered outside the White House to demonstrate against US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

🔴 UNSC Emergency meeting: The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting amid the US-Israeli airstrikes and Iran’s retaliatory attacks late on Saturday. At the meeting, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said that Iranian chants of “Death to Israel, Death to America” and the burning of both countries’ flags were acts of “state-sanctioned hatred” and preparation for action, the Associated Press reported. “But today, alongside our ally the United States, we acted to stop … an existential threat before it, became irreversible,” he said, stressing that Israel didn’t act on impulse or for aggression. “We acted out of necessity,” he said.

🔴 IAEA session rescheduled: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that its 35-nation board of governors will hold an emergency meeting at 9 am (0800 GMT) on Monday, an hour before its scheduled meeting on Russia’s request. Russia has requested a “special session of the IAEA Board of Governors on matters related to military strikes of the United States and Israel against the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the IAEA stated.

🔴 Netanyahu indicates ‘signs’ of Khamenei’s death: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “there are signs” that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was dead. Netanyahu also vowed that the attacks will last “as long as necessary,” signalling Tel Aviv’s readiness for a protracted regional conflict. The strikes targeted Khamenei and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

🔴 Attacks to continue ‘as long as necessary’: US President Donald Trump late Saturday announced that Khamenei had died during strikes targeting Iran’s leadership. He also called on Iranians to topple the government, warning that the bombing would continue throughout the week, or “as long as necessary.” His post read: “The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to ⁠achieve our objective ​of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”

🔴 Khamenei’s family members dead: Khamenei’s daughter and son-in-law were also killed in the US-Israeli strikes on Sunday, Iranian media reported. Also killed in the attacks was his grandson and daughter-in-law, the Fars News Agency reported, citing unidentified sources.

🔴 Iran confirms Khamenei’s death: Following Netanyahu’s indications and Trump’s claims, the Iranian media Sunday morning confirmed Khamenei’s death. Following the confirmation, Iran declared 40 days of public mourning and seven days of public holiday.

🔴 Iran’s warning: Following Khamenei’s death, the Iran Cabinet warned early on Sunday that this “great crime will never go unanswered”. Moreover, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, in its most recent update, stated that “the most-intense offensive operation” was ever coming to target Israel and US Mideast bases, adding that it would be “a severe, decisive and regret-inducing punishment,” news agency AP reported.