Iran and Israel traded further strikes on Sunday as the region absorbed the impact of the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint United States and Israeli assault.
Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei’s death after heavy bombardment of Tehran and other cities. Satellite imagery reviewed by international outlets showed damage to his compound in the capital. The United States has named the campaign Operation Epic Fury and said it aims to dismantle Iran’s military and missile capacity.
US Central Command said three American service members were killed in action and five seriously wounded during operations against Iran. The command also said it had sunk an Iranian Jamaran-class corvette in the Gulf of Oman and that major combat operations continued.
Iran responded with ballistic missiles and drones targeting Israel and US-linked facilities across the Gulf. The Israeli ambulance service Magen David Adom said nine people were killed in a missile strike on the town of Beit Shemesh west of Jerusalem. At least 27 others were injured. The missile struck a residential area and damaged a public shelter, according to emergency officials.
Iranian missiles also reached Gulf states that host US forces. Kuwait’s Health Ministry said one person was killed and 32 injured. In the United Arab Emirates, authorities reported one death in Abu Dhabi after debris fell near the airport. Dubai airport sustained damage in what officials described as an incident that injured four staff.
Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan said they intercepted projectiles aimed at their territory. Saudi Arabia said air defences intercepted missiles near Riyadh’s international airport and Prince Sultan Airbase.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that it had targeted the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with four ballistic missiles. A US official told Reuters the missiles did not hit the vessel and caused no damage.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that the killing of Khamenei was “a very serious and unprecedented act and a blatant violation of international law”. He said Iran had “no restrictions or limits in defending ourselves” and confirmed that a transitional Leadership Council had begun work under constitutional procedures.
According to Iran’s constitution, an interim council composed of the president, the judiciary chief and a cleric from the Guardian Council will oversee leadership duties until the Assembly of Experts selects a successor.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised address that Iran would continue to strike military bases of its enemies. US President Donald Trump urged Iranian forces to lay down their arms and called on the Iranian public to rise against the clerical leadership.
The conflict has disrupted global energy and transport. Brent crude rose about 10 per cent in over-the-counter trading on Sunday to around 80 dollars a barrel, according to oil traders cited by Reuters. Analysts at ICIS and RBC said prices could approach 100 dollars if disruption in the Strait of Hormuz continues.
Shipping data showed at least 150 tankers anchored in Gulf waters beyond the Strait of Hormuz, with dozens more stationary on the other side of the passage. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported several vessels struck by projectiles near Oman and the United Arab Emirates. One Marshall Islands-flagged crude tanker was hit northwest of Muscat, Reuters reported, citing maritime security sources.
Iran has signalled restrictions on navigation through the strait, through which about 20 per cent of global oil shipments pass. OPEC+ members announced an increase of 206,000 barrels per day in production for April, above earlier forecasts.
Air travel has also suffered heavy disruption. According to aviation data firm Cirium, reported by the BBC, 966 of 4,218 scheduled arrivals in the region on Saturday were cancelled. Major carriers including Lufthansa, British Airways and Emirates suspended flights to several Middle Eastern destinations.
The Red Crescent said more than 200 people had been killed and over 700 injured across Iran since the start of the strikes.
HT