Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei died on Saturday following a US‑Israeli offensive aimed at toppling the regime. The American president had earlier confirmed the ayatollah’s death, who had led Iran since 1989, in a post on Truth Social. Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also reported dead in the attacks.
Donald Trump cautioned on Sunday that fighting in Iran was ongoing and would persist “until all of our objectives are achieved.” He defended the campaign, arguing that “an Iranian regime equipped with long‑range missiles and nuclear weapons poses a grave danger to every American… I again call on the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military police, to surrender and accept full immunity or confront certain death.”
Speaking to Fox News, Trump claimed that 48 leaders have been eliminated in the US‑Israeli strikes on Iran. “The operation is progressing, advancing quickly. This has been the case for 47 years,” he said. “It is hard to grasp the success we are seeing—48 leaders removed in a single blow.”
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that a suspected drone attack struck RAF Akrotiri, a British base in Cyprus. No personnel were injured in the incident. The alleged strike occurred hours after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the UK had permitted the United States to target Iranian missile sites from British facilities, as officials prepare an unprecedented evacuation of UK nationals in the Gulf.
Oil prices rose sharply and equity markets slipped on Monday after the heavy US‑Israeli bombardment of Iran sparked worries about major worldwide economic fallout. Brent crude climbed up to 13 % in early trading, reaching $82 a barrel, a 14‑month peak, as the near‑closure of the Strait of Hormuz—one of the key routes for global commerce—heightened anxieties over fuel supplies.
Three American service members were reported killed in action during US operations against Iran, according to a Sunday statement from US Central Command. These constitute the first verified fatalities since the United States commenced strikes on Saturday. Trump warned in a Truth Social video that additional casualties were likely.
Iranian state media reported that the death count from a missile hit on a girls’ school in the south has approached 150. The Mizan news agency, the judiciary’s official outlet, said the Saturday strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab left 148 dead and 95 injured. The attack, which occurred on Saturday morning, appears to be the deadliest single incident of the US‑Israeli bombing campaign in Iran to date.
Trump previously stated that Iran’s new leadership seeks dialogue with him and that he has consented, as noted in an interview with The Atlantic. “They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will speak with them. They should have done this earlier,” he said.
Only 27 % of Americans say they approve of the US strikes that resulted in the death of Iran’s leader.
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