Israel strikes Tehran as counterattacks widen
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—An enormous explosion rocked Iran’s capital on Sunday as the Israeli military said it was targeting the heart of the city.
Earlier, Iran fired missiles at an ever-widening list of targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by the United States and Israel.
The blast in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. It appeared centered in neighborhoods home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television, as well as Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and a Defense Ministry building.
Saturday’s joint US-Israel strikes on Iran opened a stunning new chapter in US intervention and carried the potential for retaliatory violence and a wider war, representing a startling flexing of military might for an American president who was swept into office on an “America First” platform and vowed to keep out of “forever wars.”
This was the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has used military force against the Islamic Republic.
‘Crossed our red line’
In a 12-day war in June, Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program.
But the killing of Khamenei and a call by US President Donald Trump for the Iranian people to overthrow their government have significantly raised the stakes—and increased the risk of regional instability.
Iran’s Cabinet vowed that this “great crime will never go unanswered” and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to target Israeli and American bases.
“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address on Sunday. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”
Trump, however, warned that any retaliation would only lead to further escalation.
“THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT,” Trump fired back in a social media post. “IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”
In a sign of how the attack could spread instability throughout the region, hundreds of people stormed the US Consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Sunday. Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, and at least six people were killed in the clashes, authorities said.
Targets across Israel
After the initial strikes, Iran immediately launched missiles and drones toward Israel and into Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. A third of worldwide oil exports transported by sea passed through the strait in 2025.
In repeated barrages at targets across Israel, one person was killed and more than 120 injured, according to authorities. Many missiles were intercepted, the military said.
Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defense fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital, which has long drawn business and expatriates by billing itself as a safe haven in a volatile region. Explosions continued into Sunday morning in Dubai.
Shrapnel from Iranian attacks on the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi killed two people, state media said, and debris from aerial interceptions caused fires at the city’s main port and on the facade of the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel.
Attacks also extended into Oman—Iran’s longtime interlocutor with the West that hadn’t been drawn into the fray previously.
Saudi Arabia said Iran targeted its capital and eastern region in an attack that was repelled, and Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles.
Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar’s military also said they had intercepted projectiles on Sunday morning.
In Iraq, a militant group claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting American bases in Irbil, according to the Rudaw media outlet.
No sign of unrest
Trump called on Saturday for the Iranian people to “take over” their government. But there was no sign in Tehran or elsewhere of unrest.
Iran quickly formed a council to govern the country until a new supreme leader is chosen.
Tensions had soared in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades.
Trump insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program while the country struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests.
The strikes also killed several senior officials, including Iran’s army chief of staff, Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi; Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh; Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who took over as the Revolutionary Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its past commander in the June war; and Ali Shamkhani, a top security adviser to Khamenei.
As reports trickled out about Khamenei’s death, eyewitnesses in Tehran told The Associated Press that some residents were rejoicing, cheering from rooftops, blowing whistles and letting out ululations.
But there were mourners who raised a black flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, as the Iranian government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death.
Citing unidentified sources, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported that several relatives of Khamenei were also killed, including a daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and grandchild.
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