Khamenei killed, Iran vows revenge

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Sunday vowed “the most devastating offensive operation” against US bases and Israel in retaliation for killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 
“The most devastating offensive operation in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces will begin toward the occupied territories and American terrorist bases in just moments,” it said.
Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989 and sworn enemy of the West, was killed in the opening salvo of a massive US and Israeli attack that extended into a second day Sunday, as the two powers seek to topple the Islamic republic.
Iranian state television confirmed Khamenei’s death early Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump announced the killing of the 86-year-old cleric he described as “one of the most evil people in History.”
In a tearful address, one state TV presenter announcing Khamenei’s death said the country will enter 40 days of mourning.

Alireza Arafi was appointed on Sunday as the jurist member of Iran’s Leadership Council, a body tasked with fulfilling the supreme leader’s role until the Assembly of Experts elects a new leader, ISNA news agency reported.
A cleric member of the Guardian Council, Arafi will be part of the temporary Leadership Council alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he would use “force never seen before” in response and just warned Iran not to strike back at the US and Israel.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, he said, “Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”
At least 201 Iranian civilians, including 148 in a school, have been killed and 200 injured in the US-Israeli attacks on the country, which began on Saturday, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency – a Washington-based Iranian rights group. The death toll from an Iranian missile attack Sunday in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh rose to at least nine people, first responders said, in the deadliest strike in the country since the war began.

A Bangladeshi has died from the Iranian attacks on United Arab Emirates.
 At least three have been killed, and 58 others injured in the UAE since Iran retaliated in the Gulf in response to US and Israeli attacks.
The attacks resulted in the deaths of three people -- one each from Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, said the defence ministry of UAE.
The findings were based on a preliminary report, which said at least 58 attacks were recorded across 18 provinces, with Tehran recording the highest number of incidents.
The group also noted military casualties, damage to infrastructure and educational centres, and severe internet disruptions.
An intelligence source and a military source have told the BBC’s media partner, CBS News, that around 40 Iranian officials were killed in the strikes.
Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s daughter, son-in-law and grandchild have been killed in the attacks, the Fars News Agency – which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – has said in a report, quoting “informed sources” in the Supreme Leader’s office.
Fars has also reported that “it has been said that one of Khamenei’s daughters-in-law has been killed” in the attacks too. 
President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a statement that Tehran viewed revenge as its “legitimate right and duty” and would do its utmost to fulfill that duty.
State media reported that First Vice President Mohammadreza Aref had ordered ministers and governors to ensure the country’s administration functions without interruption in wartime. 
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the killing of Khamenei as murder and said it violated all the norms of human morality and international law.
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law,” Putin said in a note to Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian released by the Kremlin.
China said Sunday it “strongly condemns” the United States and Israel’s killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling again for a halt to military actions.
The killing was “a serious violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, a trampling on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations”, Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” it added, calling for an “immediate halting of military operations”.

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