Iran’s state media on Sunday confirmed that its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli attack on Saturday, prompting Iranian missile strikes on Israel and US targets across the region.
What happened in the past 24 hours? Why did the US and Israel take action now? How will Iran retaliate? Will this conflict escalate?
Israel had announced a “preemptive” strike on Saturday morning, sending about 200 fighter jets in simultaneous airstrikes on missile and defence systems in western and central Iran.
Shortly after the Israeli announcement, US President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that US forces are “undertaking a massive and ongoing operation” targeting Iran’s missile industry.
Iran retaliated swiftly, declaring all US military bases in the region legitimate targets and striking Israel and US assets across the Gulf, with explosions reported in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia, among other countries.
Iranian media had reported that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps had closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, declaring the vital oil and gas waterway unsafe due to US and Israeli attacks.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society said that the strikes hit at least 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces, with 201 deaths and 747 injuries reported so far.
Up to 160 people could have been killed as airstrikes struck a school in southern Iran, said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.
Iran’s president condemned the incident as “inhumane.”
In Tehran, missiles struck near the offices of Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Trump on Saturday said that Khamenei was killed in the strikes, a claim later confirmed on Sunday by Iran’s state media, after which the government announced a 40-day mourning period.
Trump said in an eight-minute video that the objective “is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats” from Iran.
Echoing his remarks, the Israeli Defence Ministry said the action aims to “remove threats to Israel.”
Analysts suggest the rhetoric indicates a broader objective: government change in Iran through military force.
Unlike the June 2025 strikes targeting underground nuclear facilities away from civilian zones, this operation hit multiple cities and leadership sites.
The timing was chosen to maximise chances of eliminating top Iranian leaders while they were at their command posts, Syrian international relations researcher Mohammad Nader al-Omari said, adding that both the United States and Israel sought a swift, decisive outcome with minimal losses.
The Pentagon has named the operation: “Operation Epic Fury,” and US officials told news outlets that it could continue for days or weeks.
According to Israeli media, planning had been underway for months, with the final date set weeks ago.
Before launching the strikes, the Trump administration built up the US military presence in the Middle East to its largest level since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Meanwhile, Israel operates around 300 advanced fighter jets and maintains a multi-layered air defence system designed to counter short-range rockets, medium-range threats and ballistic missiles.
