Heavy bombing rocks Tehran a day after Khamenei killed as conflict widens

UK Defense Secretary John Healey said on Sunday that two missiles fired from Iran traveled in the direction of Cyprus, where Britain has military bases, but he did not believe the projectiles were aimed at UK facilities.

“We are pretty sure they weren’t targeted at our bases,” Healey said in comments to British media.

He added that the incident showed “how indiscriminate” Iran’s retaliation against US-Israeli strikes is.

Healey also said 300 British military personnel were close to targets in Bahrain, where Iranian missiles struck, adding that “some of them were in several hundred yards of the missile strikes.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would strike thousands of targets in the coming days and urged Iranians to seize a rare chance to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

“In the coming days we will strike thousands of targets of the terror regime,” Netanyahu said on X, adding that Israel would create conditions for the brave people of Iran to free themselves from the chains of despotism.

He urged Iranians to join mass street demonstrations, writing: “Do not miss this opportunity. This is an opportunity that comes only once in a generation.”

Alireza Arafi, Iranian cleric and a member of the Guardian Council, was selected as a member of the Leadership Council following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the spokesperson for Iran’s Expediency Council said on Sunday.

The other two members of the Leadership Council aresaid to be President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref issued urgent instructions to ministers and provincial governors on Sunday to ensure the uninterrupted running of the country and the full continuity of public services amid wartime conditions, Iranian media reported.

The International Energy Agency said on Sunday that it was actively monitoring developments in the Middle East to assess potential impacts on global oil and gas markets and trade flows.

The agency said its surveillance is aimed at helping ensure market stability amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region.

It added that substantial global emergency oil stocks were available and could be used if necessary to support the market.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned on Sunday that Tehran would escalate its attacks, according to a post on X.

“Yesterday Iran fired missiles at the United States and Israel, and they did hurt. Today we will hit them with a force that they have never experienced before,” Iran's top security official said.

Mashhad airport in northwestern Iran was attacked on Sunday as US-Israeli airstrikes continued, state media reported.

Meanwhile, a blast sent a high plume of smoke into the air near Bushehr in southern Iran, according to videos sent to Iran International.

An air defense site at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “Imam Sadegh” base was reportedly targeted.

The Tehran Revolutionary Court was bombed on Sunday and its building was destroyed, state media reported as airstrikes by the US and Israel continue.

Iraq’s top Shiite cleric Ali Sistani offered condolences on Sunday over the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to a statement from his office.

Sistani described Khamenei’s senior position and long role in leading the Islamic Republic as “clear to everyone.”

“There is no doubt that the enemies intended, by his martyrdom and by launching the wide military aggression on Iran, to inflict severe harm on this dear country,” the statement said.

It added that Sistani called on Iranians to maintain unity and not allow “the aggressors” to achieve their aims.

Several people were killed on Sunday after hundreds of protesters stormed the US consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, authorities said.

The violence followed attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Police said the protesters were later dispersed and that the situation was under control.

Police and hospital officials in Karachi said at least eight other people were wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces near the consulate compound.

Multiple powerful explosions shook Tehran on Sunday, said Nour News, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Israel’s military also said it launched a broad wave of strikes in the heart of Tehran for the first time since the start of the attacks.

The military said the Israeli Air Force, guided by intelligence, began targeting sites belonging to the “Iranian terror regime” in the capital.

It said that over the past day the air force had carried out large-scale strikes aimed at establishing aerial superiority and paving the way to Tehran.

Oman’s Duqm commercial port was targeted by two Iranian drones on Sunday and one expatriate worker was wounded, the country’s state news agency reported.

Iran appointed Ahmad Vahidi, a former defense and interior minister, as the new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Sunday, state media reported on Sunday.

Vahidi is under US sanctions for his role in Iran’s suppression of protests, including the use of lethal force by security services during the 2022 nationwide protests.

The announcement followed the Saturday killing of several senior Iranian military commanders, including Mohammad Pakpour, the previous head of the Guards.

Two people were injured on Sunday after shrapnel from drones fell on two houses in Dubai following interception by air defenses, the Dubai Media Office said.

In a statement, the office said the debris resulted from drones that were intercepted before reaching their targets.

Iran confirmed on Sunday the deaths of two other senior commanders of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces in US and Israeli airstrikes.

Those killed were Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Abdolrahim Mousavi and Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran’s defense minister and a former air force commander and deputy chief of staff of the armed forces.

Iran’s state media reported the two men were killed along with IRGC Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s adviser Ali Shamkhani while attending a meeting of the Defense Council.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they launched “extensive missile and drone” attacks targeting US military bases and Israeli sites across the region.

In a statement Sunday morning, the IRGC said the strikes targeted 27 US bases as well as Israeli facilities including the Tel Nof Airbase, the Israeli army’s command headquarters at HaKirya in Tel Aviv and a major defense industrial complex in the city.

Tehran will take “a different and harsh step of revenge with successive, regrettable slaps,” the statement warned.

Iraqi protesters clashed with security forces near Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone as demonstrations erupted following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

According to a video posted on X and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking unit, protesters appeared to be mobilizing toward the US embassy amid anger over Khamenei’s death.

Footage showed demonstrators waving flags and chanting slogans while mourning the Iranian leader. Iraqi security forces moved to block the crowds as tensions rose around the diplomatic district.