The US-Israeli campaign has led to a significant escalation of the conflict, with Iran retaliating with missile strikes on US allies, and the war threatening to disrupt energy flows and lead to a surge in energy prices.
Iran's supreme leader was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes, a seismic development in a conflict that's spread to half a dozen countries across the Middle East and threatens to disrupt energy flows.
President Donald Trump said in a social postBloomberg Terminal that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, "one of the most evil people in history, is dead." Iran confirmed the news hours later, saying the government will observe 40 days of national mourning for the 86-year-old ruler, who was killed in his office compound.
"Heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary," Trump said.
On Sunday morning, signs were abundant that the war that began a day earlier with US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic was spreading. Sirens sounded as far as Tel Aviv, missile defenses intercepted incoming Iranian projectiles in Qatar and Bahrain, and there were reports of attacks on Dubai's main airport, the world's busiest aviation hub. The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf to the open sea, was described by Iran's Tasnim news agency as being practically shut, with oil and gas tankers increasingly avoiding the waterway.
Killing the ruler who dominated the Islamic Republic for more than three decades took the US-Israeli campaign to quash Iran's regional power to a new level, with Tehran retaliating with the heaviest missile strikes on US allies ever.
Khamenei's death raises the question of who will rule Iran next, as he had not publicly designated a successor. The Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting the supreme leader, is required to appoint a new leader. In the interim, a council comprising the president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council assumes the leader's duties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Iranians to try to overthrow their government, following a similar call made by Trump shortly after the attacks on Iran began.
The military campaign could be a defining moment for the US president, risking a drawn-out regional war that leads to a surge in energy prices and American casualties ahead of midterm elections in November. Iran has retaliated by firing missiles on Israel, US military bases and Persian Gulf countries, forcing a closure of nearly all civilian air traffic across the region.
The US and Israel started the assault on Saturday with the aim of "eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime," Trump said in a video posted on his Truth Social platform. "When we're finished, take over your government," he added, addressing Iranians directly. "It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain -- all of which host US troops -- reported Iranian attacks, most of which they seemed to repel. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted Iranian missilesBloomberg Terminal over its capital, Riyadh, and the eastern region, where most of the kingdom's oil fields are located.
Israel's military said its fighter jets targeted "approximately 500 objectives," including aerial defenses and missile launchers, severely degrading Iran's offensive capability.
US forces successfully defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drones, Central Command said in a statement, adding that there were no reports of US casualties or combat-related injuries.
Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defenses, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields in a campaign that included the first combat use of "low-cost one-way attack drones," according to Centcom. Israel said the force’s commander, Mohammad Pakpour, was killed.
Iranian media reported strikes on defensive and civilian sites, including one that killed 85 people at a school in Hormozgan. Several large explosions were reported in Tehran, the capital. Iranian television reported on Saturday that 201 people were killed and 747 injured in the strikes.
Iran's response outweighed its retaliation to Israeli airstrikes in June -- both in scale and speed -- as Tehran treats the conflict as an existential threat to the government born out of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held calls with counterparts in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq, urging them to prevent the US and Israel from using their territory to attack the Islamic Republic.
Risks to global energy markets came into focus as some vessels avoided the Strait of Hormuz. Amid the possibility of strikes due to the US military buildup in the Middle East, oil has gained almost 20% this year. Brent crude increased 2.5% to $72.48 per barrel on Friday, the highest closing price since July. Oil markets are closed for the weekend.
OPEC+ will consider the option of a larger oil supply increase when key members meet later Sunday, after the Israeli strikes, according to a delegate. The group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia was expected to resume modest production increases from April after a three-month supply freeze, several delegates said earlier this week.
The prospect of a weeks-long regional war is a nightmare scenario for US allies in the Gulf such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They pushed hard for Iran and the US to agree a diplomatic solution to their impasse over Tehran's nuclear activities, fearing the chaos and flight shutdowns now unfolding could hit their economies and deter tourists as well as foreign investment.
Trump said the military operation began after Iran refused to renounce nuclear weapons, which Tehran has repeatedly said it isn't pursuing.
Shortly before Trump announced Khamenei's death, a senior administration official told reporters that Iran refused to move on several sticking points, including moves to curtail regional proxies. Trump saw that as a key issue in any deal that could be reached, the official said.
The attacks came two days after delegations from Iran and the US met in Switzerland for a third round of negotiations on the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities. While Iran sounded upbeat about the trajectory of the talks, Trump responded by saying that he wasn't happy with how they were unfolding.