By The Associated Press<\/p>\n
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a> was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, President Donald Trump<\/a> said, calling it \u201cthe single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.\u201d <\/p>\n The death occurred after a joint U.S. and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites.<\/p>\n Trump also said \u201cheavy and pinpoint bombing\u201d was to continue through the week or longer.<\/p>\n There was no immediate comment from Iran on Khamenei\u2019s status. The assassination of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would throw its future into doubt and raise the prospect of a protracted conflict given Iranian threats of retaliation.<\/p>\n Earlier, Iran had retaliated to the U.S. and Israeli attacks by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the latest:<\/p>\n Trump says bombing of Iran will continue through week or longer<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump in his social media post said the death of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would not bring an end to the joint airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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!\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n The president stresses that his hope was for the Iranian government to join with the opposition.<\/p>\n Trump says Iran\u2019s supreme leader is dead<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead, saying his passing is \u201cthe single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.\u201d<\/p>\n The death occurred after a joint U.S. and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites.<\/p>\n Trump in his post called Khamenei \u201cone of the most evil people in history.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said that Khamenei \u201cwas unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump says he believes Iran\u2019s supreme leader is dead<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with ABC News he believes Iran\u2019s supreme leader is dead.<\/p>\n The president was asked if Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the Isreal-U.S. attack and he said, \u201cWe believe so.\u201d But he also said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to say anything definitively until I see things but we believe he is. And much of their leaders are gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said the U.S. had \u201cgreat intelligence\u201d and that it believes much of the Iranian leadership \u201cis gone.\u201d<\/p>\n ABC News did not release audio of the interview.<\/p>\n UN chief calls for end to hostilities, return to US-Iran talks<\/p>\n Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that \u201ceverything must be done to prevent a further escalation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe alternative,\u201d he warned, \u201cis a potential wider conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability.\u201d<\/p>\n Guterres reiterated his earlier condemnation of the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes for violating Iran\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity and international law, including the U.N. Charter \u2013 and he also condemned Iran\u2019s retaliatory attacks for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n Shrapnel from Iranian missile attack injures man in Tel Aviv area<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s Magen David Adom rescue service says rocket shrapnel from the latest Iranian missile attack has seriously injured a man in the Tel Aviv area. It marks the first serious injury to be reported in Israel since the exchange of missiles began. Magen David Adom says it has also treated 90 casualties, all in mild condition.<\/p>\n No one has been killed in Israel.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s U.N. ambassador calls condemnation of airstrikes \u2018hypocrisy\u2019<\/p>\n Danny Danon told reporters ahead of an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Iran is responsible for escalating actions by its proxies and its nuclear and missile programs, and \u201cnow Israel and the U.S. act to prevent an irreversible and immediate threat.\u201d<\/p>\n He did not respond to a question asking whether he could confirm the death of Iran\u2019s supreme leader. But he said: \u201cWe will continue to target the leadership of the radical regime and we will do whatever necessary to enable the right conditions for the people of Iran and stability for the region.\u201d<\/p>\n How long will it take? \u201cAs long as it will take to achieve the goals,\u201d Danon replied.<\/p>\n Everyone is watching the situation on the ground, he said, and \u201cthe time for the Iranian people to take control of the future is very soon.<\/p>\n Most of Iran\u2019s senior leadership is \u2018gone\u2019 \u2014 Trump<\/p>\n Asked about reports that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in airstrikes on Saturday, President Donald Trump said: \u201cWe feel that that is a correct story.\u201d<\/p>\n In a brief phone interview with NBC News, Trump said \u201ca large amount of leadership\u201d of Iran had been killed, adding: \u201cI don\u2019t mean like two people.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said \u201cmost\u201d of Iran\u2019s senior leadership is \u201cgone,\u201d including many people who make decisions.<\/p>\n Asked who might now become Iran\u2019s new supreme leader, Trump joked, \u201cI don\u2019t know. But at some point they\u2019ll be calling me to ask who I\u2019d like\u201d before noting he was being \u201conly being a little sarcastic\u201d in suggesting that.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s defense minister and Revolutionary Guard commander killed, says Israel<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military has named some of the top members of Iran\u2019s leadership it says were killed in its first round of Saturday strikes on Iran. Neither Iran nor the U.S. commented on or confirmed the claims.<\/p>\n Israel said the strikes killed Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran\u2019s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.<\/p>\n The military also said its strikes took out Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Iranian Security Council and a close adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and Mohammad Shirazi, the head of Khamenei\u2019s military bureau.<\/p>\n Khamenei is dead, Israeli officials tell AP<\/p>\n Israeli officials told The Associated Press Saturday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a> is dead. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. or Iran on his status.<\/p>\n The assassination of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would throw its future into doubt.<\/p>\n In a nationally televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were \u201cgrowing signs\u201d that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday.<\/p>\n Shortly after the address, two Israeli officials said Israel had confirmed his death. The officials both spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement and gave no further details.<\/p>\n Iraqi group claims drone attack on U.S. base in Irbil<\/p>\n A group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq-Brigades of the Guardians of Blood in a statement claimed that it launched a drone attack on a U.S. base in Irbil, the capital of Iraq\u2019s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region.<\/p>\n Earlier Saturday, a number of missiles and drones were intercepted over Irbil.<\/p>\n The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that has previously launched attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s conventional missile capability was an \u2018intolerable\u2019 risk, says US official <\/p>\n A senior Trump administration official says Iran\u2019s conventional missile capability presented an \u201cintolerable\u201d risk to the U.S., and that that reality has since been demonstrated by Tehran\u2019s strikes around the region after the U.S.-Israeli attack.<\/p>\n On a call with reporters, the official said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had briefed top leaders in Congress. Rubio made it clear then that Iran was ready to use conventional missiles against U.S. forces in the Middle East, the official said.<\/p>\n The official \u2014 who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details about Trump\u2019s decision-making process that have not been publicly disclosed \u2014 added that Iran\u2019s unwillingness to discuss ballistic missiles in previous negotiations left Trump no option but to proceed militarily.<\/p>\n Separately, Trump administration officials said on a phone call with reporters that they offered Iran many ways to have a peaceful nuclear program that could be used for civilian purposes.<\/p>\n But the officials said it was clear to them that Iran wanted enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. The Trump administration officials said that Iran met their offers with \u201cgames, tricks, stall tactics.\u201d<\/p>\n The officials requested anonymity to describe the rationale behind the joint military strikes on Iranian targets by the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n Pro-Iran protests in Baghdad<\/p>\n Hundreds of people demonstrated in Baghdad in support of Iran and against the attacks launched by Israel and the U.S.<\/p>\n Demonstrators carried posters of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, slain Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the high Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.<\/p>\n Demonstrators clashed with anti-riot police several times in the demonstration that was held near the heavily fortified Green Zone in the Iraqi capital.<\/p>\n US posts aerial footage showing strikes on variety of targets<\/p>\n Aerial footage posted to social media by U.S. Central Command showed U.S. munitions striking what appeared to be a variety of targets from drones to buildings.<\/p>\n The video montage was released Saturday afternoon. It showed black and white aerial footage of what appeared to be a drone on a runway, a radar tower, a missile battery, and a compound of buildings. They were all being struck by what seemed to be bombs or missiles and followed by large explosions.<\/p>\n The footage features the words \u201cunclassified\u201d at the top of the screen and a targeting reticle in the middle.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command did not provide more details about the video.<\/p>\n EU foreign ministers to hold virtual meeting on Sunday<\/p>\n European Union foreign ministers will meet virtually on Sunday to discuss the unfurling conflict in the Middle East, the bloc\u2019s top diplomat said.<\/p>\n EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a social media post that she would hold a meet of the Foreign Affairs Council to work toward a de-escalation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is essential that the war does not spread any further. The Iranian regime has choices to make,\u201d Kallas said. \u201cThe Iranian regime\u2019s indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors carry the risk of dragging the region into a broader war and we condemn this.\u201d<\/p>\n Growing signs that Khamenei \u2018is no longer alive\u2019 \u2014 Netanyahu<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is growing evidence that Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the U.S.-Israeli operation.<\/p>\n Speaking in a nationally televised address, Netanyahu said the strikes had targeted Khamenei\u2019s compound. \u201cThere are growing signs that the tyrant is no longer alive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Khamenei has not been seen in public since the operation began.<\/p>\n Trump speaks to regional leaders and NATO chief<\/p>\n White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on the social media site X that President Donald Trump \u201chas spoken with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte\u201d after the strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n The president has yet to detail the strikes and the urgency behind them to the broader public.<\/p>\n Israel closes all crossings into Gaza<\/p>\n The Israeli agency responsible for administering aid to Gaza said it has closed all crossings into the territory, preventing the entry of materials and aid workers. <\/p>\n In a post on X, COGAT said there is sufficient stockpiles of food in Gaza to get Palestinians there through an extended period, without providing evidence.<\/p>\n The agency said the crossings were closed for security reasons owing to the current missile exchange with Iran.<\/p>\n Religious sites in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City close<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s police said the Dome of the Rock compound will be closed for Ramadan due to concerns over missile strikes with Iran. <\/p>\n All religious sites in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City are closed, according to police. <\/p>\n The Israeli military has raised the alert level across the country and canceled all gatherings in public spaces. Schools and many workplaces are also closed.<\/p>\n Vance monitored strikes on Iran from White House <\/p>\n Vice President JD Vance monitored the strikes on Iran from the Situation Room at the White House and dialed into a conference line with President Donald Trump and his team at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night into Saturday morning, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n Vance was joined by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as well as the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the person said.<\/p>\n The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, was at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, a second person familiar with the situation said.<\/p>\n Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.<\/p>\n The Pentagon did not answer questions about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s whereabouts for the strike.<\/p>\n US targeted Revolutionary Guard command facilities, other sites<\/p>\n U.S. forces striking Iran focused on locations \u201cthat posed an imminent threat\u201d including \u201cIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields,\u201d U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday.<\/p>\n The strikes, which began shortly before 10 a.m. in Tehran, included \u201cprecision munitions launched from air, land, and sea\u201d and U.S. Central Command said that they also employed low-cost one-way attack drones for the first time in combat.<\/p>\n According to the military command, the operation, dubbed \u201cEpic Fury,\u201d is the \u201clargest regional concentration of American military firepower in a generation.\u201d<\/p>\n US military reports no American casualties so far<\/p>\n About 12 hours after the attacks began, the U.S. military reported no U.S. casualties and minimal damage at U.S. bases despite \u201chundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.\u201d It said targets in Iran included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields.<\/p>\n Iran state TV reports more than 200 people killed<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Red Crescent says Israeli-U.S. airstrikes across Iran have killed 201 people and injured 747, according to comments on Iranian state TV.<\/p>\n The spokesperson for the Red Crescent said the strikes have hit 24 of Iran\u2019s 31 provinces. The spokesperson said relief operations are ongoing, and that 220 teams were deployed to different sites to respond to the strikes.<\/p>\n Leader of Houthi rebels in Yemen vows solidarity with Iran<\/p>\n The leader of the Houthi rebels in Yemen says they\u2019re ready for \u201cany necessary development\u201d following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran\u2019s counter attacks against Israel and U.S. interests in the region.<\/p>\n In a pre-recorded speech, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said the rebels \u201cwill take action in various activities\u201d in solidarity with Iran. He didn\u2019t elaborate further details.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Islamic Republic is waging the battle of the entire Islamic nation against American-Israeli-Zionist tyranny,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Israeli says some 200 fighter jets took part in initial attack<\/p>\n The Israeli military says some 200 fighter jets participated in the initial attack on Iran, striking some 500 targets that included air defenses and missile launchers.<\/p>\n It says it was the largest \u201cmilitary flyover\u201d in the Israeli air force\u2019s history.<\/p>\n Explosions heard in Tehran near Intelligence Ministry<\/p>\n Witnesses living near the Intelligence Ministry building in Tehran tell The Associated Press that several explosions were heard in the vicinity of the facility. There has been no official statement on the incident in Iranian media so far. Witnesses also reported that air defense systems had begun operating in the area.<\/p>\n Oil price swings expected next week<\/p>\n Oil markets currently closed for the weekend are set to see price swings next week<\/a> as the impact from the U.S. and Israeli strikes<\/a> on oil supplies from the Middle East remains unclear.<\/p>\n Scenarios before the latest conflict with Iran foresaw a quick price spike that fades if the attacks didn\u2019t affect oil shipping and infrastructure such as Iranian pipelines and its Kharg island terminal. <\/p>\n However, there would be a bigger price spike and longer-lasting impact if oil infrastructure or supplies were interrupted, for instance because of disruption of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n UK calls on Iran to \u2018end this now\u2019<\/p>\n British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says that while the U.K. didn\u2019t participate in the attack on Iran, its planes provided air defense for its people and allies in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve stepped up protections from British bases and personnel to their highest level,\u201d Starmer said.<\/p>\n The Iranian leadership is \u201cutterly abhorrent,\u201d has killed its own people and destabilized the region and should never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, Starmer said.<\/p>\n \u201cIran can end this now,\u201d he said. \u201cThey should refrain from further strikes, give up their weapons program and cease the appalling violence and repression against the Iranian people.\u201d<\/p>\n Mideast governments condemn Iran<\/p>\n Across the Middle East, governments moved quickly to condemn Iran\u2019s strikes on Arab neighbors, while staying silent on earlier Israeli and U.S. attacks. Countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Israel \u2014 including Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates \u2014 denounced Iranian strikes targeting U.S. military bases including in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Emirates.<\/p>\n The 22-nation Arab League \u2014 which has historically condemned both Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing the region \u2014 called the attacks \u201ca blatant violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate for peace and strive for stability.\u201d<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia said it \u201ccondemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n The responses broadly mirrored Western reactions, while setting Middle Eastern powers apart from China and Russia\u2019s quick condemnation of the U.S.-Israeli action.<\/p>\n Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military say that that \u201cdozens\u201d of missiles have been fired by Iran at Israel. While many have been intercepted and no serious injuries have been reported, the missile barrages were continuing after sundown Saturday. Israel\u2019s military chief gave an address on national TV warning that the defenses are not \u201chermetic\u201d and the public should obey safety instructions and remain vigilant.<\/p>\n Iran calls for \u2018immediate action\u2019 from U.N.<\/p>\n Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has written to the U.N. Security Council calling for the 15-member body to \u201ctake immediate action in response to this breach of international peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n The council, which is currently under the presidency of the United Kingdom until midnight Saturday, is expected to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday.<\/p>\n Araghchi reiterated that Iran will continue to retaliate by all means necessary and that \u201call bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile forces in the region shall be regarded as legitimate military objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n EU to hold emergency security meeting on Monday<\/p>\n The European Union will hold an emergency security meeting on Monday over the conflict in the Middle East, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.<\/p>\n \u201cFor regional security and stability, it is of the utmost importance that there is no further escalation through Iran\u2019s unjustified attacks on partners in the region,\u201d she said on a Saturday in a social media post.<\/p>\n Egyptian leader speaks with Saudi crown prince<\/p>\n Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has spoken by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.<\/p>\n El-Sissi expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia, and stressed the importance of intensifying efforts to \u201ccontain the escalation\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cContinued military escalation will only bring more suffering to the people of the region and undermine development opportunities,\u201d el-Sissi said.<\/p>\n Leading Democrat denounces US strikes on Iran<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia has questioned whether President Donald Trump has learned anything \u201cfrom decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor months, I have raised hell about the fact that the American people want lower prices, not more war \u2014 especially wars that aren\u2019t authorized by Congress, as required by the Constitution, and don\u2019t have a clear objective,\u201d Kaine said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThese strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He called for the U.S. Senate to \u201cimmediately return\u201d to the Capitol and vote on whether to authorize or limit strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n U.N. Security Council to hold emergency meeting<\/p>\n The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s U.N. Mission says the meeting will take place at 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT) at the request of Bahrain and France.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s U.N. ambassador Danny Danon said Israel \u201cis strong, united and determined to defend its citizens against any existential threat.\u201d Danon also said that \u201cIsrael will never allow an Iranian nuclear state.\u201d<\/p>\n U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has condemned the strikes on Iran and the Islamic Republic\u2019s retaliation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe use of force by the United States and Israel against Iran, and the subsequent retaliation by Iran across the region, undermine international peace and security,\u201d Guterres said in a statement. He also called for an immediate ceasefire and for all parties to return to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s supreme leader and its president are alive \u2014 minister says<\/p>\n