•Iran hits Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, others in retaliatory attacks
• Airspace closed, airlines halt flights
• FG issues advisory to Nigerians in Iran, Gulf states
• UN Security Council begins emergency meeting
• Crude oil prices expected to skyrocket
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
United States President, Mr. Donald Trump, yesterday confirmed that the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and 40 top military and civilian leaders were killed in the airstrikes launched by the US and Israel against Iran.
Trump also announced that the members of the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were seeking immunity from the United States.
The US and Israel had earlier yesterday launched a major attack on Iran, with President Trump urging the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.
In retaliation, Iran also launched attacks on Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, and other countries with the US’ military bases or that are allies of the US, in response to the strikes across its territory.
The US reportedly has about 13 military bases across the Middle East, with 30,000 to 40,000 troops usually deployed between them.
While the US and Israel were demanding regime change in Iran, Tehran had also retaliated with airstrikes on US allies in the Middle East.
Reuters reported that the attacks forced much of the Middle East’s airspace to shut down, with reverberations across the globe.
At least eight countries, including Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, closed their airspace.
Syria also announced it had closed part of its airspace in the south along its border with Israel for 12 hours.
The attack on Iran had prompted Tehran to call for an emergency meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, while the European Union foreign ministers would hold “extraordinary” talks today.
Meanwhile, oil prices will likely rise sharply when trading opens on Monday morning, as Tehran has repeatedly threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil export channel and a critical maritime corridor connecting oil-producing countries in the Middle East to the rest of the world.
Trump confirmed yesterday afternoon that Khamenei was killed in the airstrikes.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS.”
The US President said the supreme leader was “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.”
“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country,” the president wrote.
“We are hearing that many of their IRGC, military, and other security and police forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for immunity from us. As I said last night, ‘Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!’”
Trump said he hopes the IRGC and police will “peacefully merge” with Iranian patriots to stabilize the country.
“That process should soon be starting in that, not only the death of Khamenei but the Country has been, in only one day, very much destroyed and, even, obliterated,” he wrote. “The 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”.
Israel said its opening strikes decimated the chain of command — killing seven senior defence and intelligence officials and targeting 30 top military and civilian leaders overall.
Others confirmed killed include: Khamenei’s top security adviser, Ali Shamkhani; IRGC Commander, Mohammad Pakpour; Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh; Khamenei’s Chief Military Secretary, Mohammad Shirazi and Head of Iranian Military Intelligence, Saleh Asadi.
Similarly, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had also called on Iranians to ‘take to the streets en masse’ to topple the country’s regime.
Netanyahu had also said there were strong indications that Iran’s Supreme Leader had been killed in an attack on his compound as part of US-Israeli strikes.
“This morning, in a powerful surprise strike, the compound of the tyrant Ali Khamenei was destroyed in the heart of Tehran… and there are many signs that this tyrant is no longer alive,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
The Chairman of the SPND (Iran’s nuclear weapons research organisation), Hossein Jabal Amelian and former SPND Chairman, Reza Mozaffari-Nia, were also eliminated.
However, a report said one senior official who survived is Ali Larijani —Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, former parliament speaker and one of Khamenei’s closest confidants.
More than 250 people were reportedly killed across Iran.
An Iranian official was quoted as saying that 85 people were killed after a strike hit a girls’ school.
Iran Hits Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Others
Iran’s IRGC said in a statement it was targeting US bases and assets as part of operation “Truthful Promise 4”, in retaliation for the attack on Iran.
The BBC reported that at least four people were injured in an incident at a luxury hotel in Dubai, and a civilian was killed by falling debris in Abu Dhabi after a strike “involving Iranian ballistic missiles.”
Dubai airport was also reportedly hit in the attack by Iran.
However, the United Arab Emirates’ Defence Ministry has said it destroyed 132 missiles and intercepted 195 drones launched from Iran.
Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned Iran’s latest military actions across the Gulf, confirming that Iranian forces directly targeted Riyadh and the kingdom’s eastern region in a significant escalation of hostilities.
According to a statement issued by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the attacks were successfully repelled by the kingdom’s air defence systems.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement yesterday strongly condemning “the targeting of Qatari territory with Iranian ballistic missiles”. It said it considered it “a flagrant violation of its national sovereignty, a direct infringement on its security and territorial integrity” and an “unacceptable escalation.”
The Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Interior in Qatar, Abdullah Khalifa Al-Muftah, said eight people were injured by falling missile shrapnel, one of them seriously.
In a televised address, he said 66 missiles were fired on Qatar.
He said there were 114 reports of shrapnel falling across the country.
The Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Sultan Al-Hashemi, said Iran’s repeated targeting of Qatar was a reckless and irresponsible act that contradicted the principle of good neighbourliness.
Similarly, Bahrain has decried Iranian attacks on countries across the Gulf.
Jamal Fares Al-Ruwaie said Bahrain condemned the “unprecedented escalation,” saying it would deal with it “firmly”.
Al-Ruwaie also condemned strikes in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, and Syria.
“These grave developments reflect an escalatory pattern targeting our collective security,” he said.
FG Issues Advisory to Nigerians in Iran, Gulf States
Meanwhile, the federal government has issued a travel advisory to Nigerians residing in or visiting Iran and neighbouring Gulf countries.
In a statement signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the government said it was closely monitoring the “evolving and volatile situation” in the Middle East.
“All Nigerians in Iran and affected Gulf countries are advised to remain extremely vigilant and conscious of their surroundings at all times,” the statement reads.
“Avoid areas known to be strategic, military, or government installations, as these could be potential flashpoints.”
The advisory urged citizens to avoid large gatherings and public demonstrations.
The statement added that the Nigerian embassy in Tehran and missions in neighbouring Gulf countries, including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, are on high alert to provide consular assistance and facilitate communication.
The government also called on parties involved in the conflict to de-escalate tensions.
UN Security Council Begins Emergency Meeting
Meanwhile, the UN panel has begun its emergency meeting in the wake of US-Israel attacks on Iran.
“Military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world,” UN Secretary General Guterres said, adding that about 20 cities had been hit in Iran.
He noted reports of Iranian leaders being killed but said he could not independently confirm.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kalla, has said that the bloc’s foreign ministers would hold “extraordinary” talks on Iran today.
“The Iranian regime’s indiscriminate attacks against its neighbours carry the risk of dragging the region into a broader war, and we condemn this.”
Iran has also called for an emergency meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog to discuss what it described as “baseless” US and Israeli claims that Tehran’s atomic programme partly justified their military action against it.
Crude Oil Prices Expected to Skyrocket
Meanwhile, oil prices will likely rise when trading opens on Monday morning, as Tehran has repeatedly threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil export channel and a critical maritime corridor.
Other things being equal, the rising international price of crude is a plus for Nigeria, whose 2026 budget rests on a projected oil production benchmark of 1.84 million barrels per day (bpd), and a price benchmark of between $60 to $64.85 per barrel.
Beyond being a major oil producer, Tehran has repeatedly threatened a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
In 2024, approximately 20 million barrels of crude oil passed through it daily, which is equivalent to nearly 20 per cent of global liquid oil consumption, according to a report by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
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