Iran vows revenge for Khamenei killing “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address Sunday. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg”
Dubai: Iran vowed revenge on Sunday after the killing of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, confirmed by state officials and US President Donald Trump, traded strikes with Israel as part of a widening war prompted by a surprise US and Israeli bombardment, and rained missiles on other Gulf nations. The US military said three service members have been killed, the first known American casual ties from the conflict. In Israel, nine people died in the city of Beit Shemesh in an Iranian missile strike. Other Gulf nations began counting their dead from Iranian retaliatory strikes while Israel pledged "non stop" strikes against Iran. Iranian authorities said more than 200 people had been killed since the start of the strikes, including six senior officials apart from Ayatollah Khamenei. Iran formed a new governing council comprising senior cleric Ayatollah Aoreza Arafi, Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian and Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei, head of the judiciary. A senior US official said that “new potential leadership" in Iran has suggested they are open for talks with the US. Tehran attacked the UAE but said it is attacking US bases located in those countries.
An Oman port and an oil tanker off its coast were attacked Sunday, official media said, marking the first strikes on the sultanate -- which mediated US-Iran talks -- since Tehran launched a retaliation campaign.
Iran's continued Gulf bombardment has raised fears of a wider conflict and rattled a region long seen as a haven of peace and security in the turbulent Middle East.
"A security source reported that the commercial port of Duqm was targeted by two drones," the Oman News Agency said in a social media post.
"One drone struck a mobile workers' accommodation, injuring one foreign worker, while debris from the other landed near fuel tanks, causing no casualties or material damage," it added.
Shortly after, Oman said an oil tanker was targeted off the coast. Its crew was evacuated and four of them were injured, the news agency reported.
What to know so far:
- How we got here: The joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran, which officials say was planned for months, followed unsuccessful negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program and warnings from Trump. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting U.S. military installations in the region.
- Arafi to lead temporarily: Alireza Arafi was appointed on Sunday as the jurist member of Iran’s Leadership Council, a body tasked with fulfilling the supreme leader’s role until the Assembly of Experts elects a new leader, Reuters report said citing ISNA news agency.
- Violence in Pakistan: At least six people have been killed in Karachi after protesters stormed the US Consulate in response to the killing of Khamenei. Local authorities report the situation is currently under “control” but remains volatile.
- Regional retaliation: Iran has launched a massive wave of drone and missile strikes. Explosions have been reported for a second consecutive day in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha.
- Humanitarian toll: The Iranian Red Crescent reports over 201 fatalities nationwide, including a strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran with at least 85 feared dead.
- Airport Disruptions in Gulf: Major flight cancellations reported at Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai airports due to ongoing drone activity and interceptions by Saudi and Jordanian defences.
- Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister killed in airstrike: Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister were killed in an airstrike targeting a meeting of the country’s defense council, Iranian state television reported Sunday.
Live Updates
- 1 March 2026 7:26 PM IST
OPEC Plus will increase oil production
OPEC Plus, a group of eight oil-producing countries, says it will increase oil production by 206,000 barrels a day in April in an effort to mitigate the impact on oil prices during the latest conflict in the Middle East.
The group, which includes Arab Gulf countries and Russia, has said in a statement that its members will “closely monitor and assess market conditions, and in their continuous efforts to support market stability.” — AP
- 1 March 2026 7:24 PM IST
Another vessel attacked in Strait of Hormuz
A second vessel has come under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, according to an agency of the British military.
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center said that the attack happened off Mina Saqr, United Arab Emirates.
It said that the vessel had been hit by a projectile that caused a fire. The blaze was extinguished and the vessel will continue on its way.
Another vessel earlier in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran also came under attack. The attacks come as Iranian officials reportedly have been threatening vessels transiting the strait over the radio.
The Strait of Hormuz sees a fifth of the world’s traded oil pass through it. — AP
- 1 March 2026 6:46 PM IST
4 Dead In A Strike On Central Israel
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service says at least four people were killed in a strike that hit central Israel. A spokesperson said searches are ongoing for additional victims.
Iran has launched dozens of rockets at Israel since the United States and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Saturday
- 1 March 2026 5:41 PM IST
Israeli military says not aware of strikes on Iranian school
An Israeli military spokesperson said Sunday that he is not aware of any Israeli or American strikes in the area of a school in southern Iran where more than 100 people died.
State-run IRNA news agency said a strike hit an all-girls school in the town of Minab on Saturday.
- 1 March 2026 5:40 PM IST
Pope urges an end to Iran conflict
Pope Leo XIV said Sunday he was “profoundly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and urged both sides to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”In the first reaction to the attacks, the American pope called for the resumption of diplomacy and a “reasonable, authentic and responsible” dialogue based on justice. Weapons, he said, only sow “destruction, pain and death.”
- 1 March 2026 5:37 PM IST
Alireza Arafi Named to Leadership Council After Khamenei Killing
Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to its interim leadership council, which will be at the helm of the country following the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Sunday.
"The Expediency Discernment Council has elected Ayatollah Alireza Arafi as a member of the interim leadership council," said expediency council spokesman Mohsen Dehnavi in a post on X.
The interim council, which will also include the president and the head of the judiciary, will lead the country until the Assembly of Experts "elects a permanent leader as soon as possible".
- 1 March 2026 5:12 PM IST
Serbia’s embassy in Tehran damaged
Serbia says its embassy building in Tehran was damaged in military strikes on Sunday but there are no casualties.
Footage aired by state broadcaster RTS showed shattered windows and glass. The report said the apparent target was a military base located in the area.
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said that the embassy staff was pulling out and moving to Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.
- 1 March 2026 5:00 PM IST
UK Condemns Iran's 'Increasingly Indiscriminate' Attacks, Strengthens West Asia Defences
London : The UK on Sunday condemned Iran for its "increasingly indiscriminate" attacks in West Asia and said it has strengthened defences in the region as part of its active defensive operations.Following confirmation that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the joint US-Israeli strikes, UK Defence Secretary John Healey told reporters that "few people will mourn his death" because the regime he led was a "source of evil".
The Cabinet minister said his efforts remain focussed on the rising risks to British personnel, people, military and civilians in the region.
"Make no mistake this is a regime that he [Khameni] has run for decades as a source of evil, it has murdered its own citizens, it has exported terror including to Britain," Healey told 'Sky News'.
"Iran is lashing out in an increasingly indiscriminate and widespread way, and people will be really concerned that it's not just military targets, but civilian airports like Kuwait ... hotels in Dubai and Bahrain are being hit," he said, adding that UK defences have been "strengthened in the region" as Britain remains "active in regional defence operations."
The defence minister stressed the UK's airborne operations are about reinforcing "regional stability" and that the Royal Air Force (RAF) will "continue to do that and to try and reduce the risk of escalation in the future."
Healey pointed out that RAF jets are flying from Qatar and Cyprus and are protecting against Iranian missiles or drones sent toward these two countries.
"Of course, when our planes are in the air and they see things – missiles or drones – directed towards other countries, they'll take them down.
"So, when I talk about Britain playing a role in reinforcing regional stability and part of coordinated regional defensive operations, that's what I mean," he explained.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer had stated that while the United Kingdom played "no role" in the joint strikes by the US and Israel on targets in Iran, RAF jets "are in the sky" in West Asia as part of "defensive operations".
"It's why Keir Starmer yesterday called for Iran to end this now, to give up its weapons programmes and to return to the root of diplomacy, which is, in the end, the way that we will settle a long-term stability and peace in this region," said Healey.
He indicated that around 300 British personnel were nearby when Iran struck a military base in Bahrain on Saturday, adding some were "within several hundred yards of the strike."
"It demonstrates how our bases, our personnel, military and civilians at the moment are at risk with a regime that is increasingly indiscriminate, widespread and uncontrolled in the attacks it's mounting," Healey asserted.
British nationals in the region are being encouraged to follow Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel and "shelter in place" safety advisories.
Soon after the attacks on Saturday, Starmer spoke to US President Donald Trump, President of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Amir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
"They stressed the importance now of preventing further escalation and reiterated their commitment to regional security," Downing Street said with reference to the discussions.
