(VOVWORLD) - Israel said it launched another wave of strikes against Iran on Sunday, after the killing of their supreme leader in US and Israeli attacks that threaten to destabilize the wider Middle East. Israel said its latest attacks target Iran’s ballistic missile and air defense systems.
 A satellite image shows black smoke rising and heavy damage at Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's compound, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Tehran, Iran February 28, 2026. (Pleiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026/Handout via REUTERS) |
Hours after both nations said an air strike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the most ambitious series of attacks on Iran in decades, Iran’s state media confirmed the 86-year-old Supreme Leader's death on Saturday. State television describes Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as being at his compound in downtown Tehran when the initial attack began. Satellite photos from Airbus show the site was heavily bombed.
Iran has declared 40 days of public mourning.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Khamenei's compound had been destroyed. The Israel Defense Forces said Iranian Defence Minister Amir Nasirzadeh, Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammed Pakpour, and Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, were also dead.
Xinhua reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and one jurist of the Guardian Council will temporarily assume duties of leadership in Iran after Khamenei's death.
Iran's armed forces would soon retaliate again with their biggest offensive against US bases and Israel, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed in a statement on Sunday.
 A projectile launched from Iran heads towards Israel, after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, as seen from Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 28, 2026. (REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma) |
In Tel Aviv, a series of explosions were heard as Israel’s air defense system sought to intercept the latest Iranian offensive. There was no immediate report of any damage or injuries.
Witnesses in the Gulf cities of Dubai and Doha heard several loud blasts.
Iran had responded to Saturday's initial attacks by launching hundreds of missiles and drones targeting US troops and cities in Israel and Arab countries allied with Washington, prompting widespread cancellations of Middle East flights.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday condemned the deadly Israeli-US airstrikes on a girls' school in southern Iran in a statement. The death toll has reached 85, according to local media.