Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad killed in US-Israel strike as strikes continue following Khamenei's death
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on Saturday in US-Israeli strikes on Iran, with former President Ahmadinejad also killed, according to state media.
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Ex-President Ahmadinejad, 69, served as Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013.
On Sunday, blasts continued to ring out across several neighbouring countries including Oman, Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain overnight, as Iran targeted US military bases in the countries.
Explosions were seen to shake Tel Aviv overnight, with at least 40 buildings damaged in the Iranian attack and more than 200 residents evacuated from their homes to nearby hotels.
Despite Iran targeting US military bases in the Middle East, a host of civilian locations - including Dubai's International Airport - were rocked by blasts, with Dubai's iconic Fairmont The Palm and Burj Al Arab hotels hit by Iran's counter-strikes.
It comes as Defence Secretary John Healey said on Sunday that “few people will mourn the Ayatollah” whose regime was “a source of evil”.
But as missiles continued to rain down on Iran and neighbouring countries following the Ayatollah's death, Iranians took to the streets around the world to celebrate freedom - as others were seen to mourn the loss.
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The US-Israeli war with Iran has entered its third week.
Key developments:
- Donald Trump has hit out at Sir Keir Starmer, insisting he's 'not happy' with the UK who he said used to be the 'Rolls-Royceof allies'
- EU leaders stood united in their refusal to send warships to Iran after the US president asked seven countries to protect the Strait of Hormuz
- The US President told the UK 'we don’t want your aircraft carriers' in an apparent U-turn
- It comes after drone strike near Dubai International Airport temporarily grounded flights on Monday
Trump's top counterintelligence official resigns over Iran war
The US' top counterintelligence official has quit over the war in Iran.
"I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran," Joseph Kent, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said.
He added: "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."
He later said: "I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards."
Number of Brits flown back to UK since start of Middle East war to hit 100,000 today, says Foreign Secretary
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has told the Commons the number of British nationals flown back to the UK from the Middle East since the start of the conflict will today reach 100,000.
Ms Cooper told MPs today: “On the outset of this crisis, more than 300,000 British citizens were in the region and with the airstrikes started and airspace closed, many were stuck.
“And we’ve been working relentlessly since then to help them get home. This has been a complex task.”
Ms Cooper later added: “We’ve laid on additional Government charter flights from Muscat and from Dubai.
“And we estimate now that the number of British nationals who will have flown back from the region since the start of the war will today reach 100,000.”
Iranian security chief who taunted Trump and head of brutal Basij militia taken out in targeted airstrikes, Israel says
A top militia commander who oversaw mass arrests and a brutal crackdown on mass protests across Iran has been killed in an airstrike alongside Iran's top security chief, Israel has claimed.
The IDF said its air force had killed Gholamreza Soleimani, a top militia commander, on Monday.
It comes as Israeli forces also confirmed that they had targeted and killed the secretary of Iran's National Security Council, Ali Larijani, in the strike.
Ali Larijani, the influential secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), was one of several Iranian chiefs to publicly taunt President Trump and Israel during an annual anti-Israeli Quds Day rally last week.
Iranian security chief Larijani killed in strike, Israel says
Ali Larijani, Iran's top security official, has reportedly been killed in an airstike.
Israel’s Minister of Defence Israel Katz made the claim in a statement on Tuesday.
Larijani ran Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
Iranian outlets have also described him as an adviser to the now dead Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Ali LarijaniTop militia commander who oversaw Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on protests 'killed in Israeli airstrike'
A top militia commander who oversaw mass arrests and a brutal crackdown on mass protests across Iran has been killed in an airstrike, Israel claims.
The IDF claimed its air force had killed Gholamreza Soleimani, a top militia commander, on Monday.
It comes after Israeli forces confirmed they had targeted the secretary of Iran's National Security Council, Ali Larijani.
Soleimani, head of Iran's Basij unit - a paramilitary group involved in the deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, lead the Revolutionary Guard-linked militia for six years.
His death was confirmed by the IDF in a Telegram post, with Iranian media is yet to confirm the death.
Brigadier General GHOLAMREZA SOLEIMANIBritish Airways cancels Dubai flights until summer over Middle East 'airspace instability'
British Airways has cancelled all flights into Dubai until the summer due to the "continued uncertainty" and "airspace instability".
The airline announced that all flights to the UAE were suspended until later this year, while also putting trips to Doha in Qatar on hold until the end of April.
Travel to Amman, Bahrain and Tel Aviv has also been halted until after May 31.
It marks the longest airline cancellation announced so far during the US-Israel war on Iran, which has now entered its third week.
Mojtaba Khamenei escaped death by seconds after he 'stepped outside' for a garden walk
Iran’s new supreme leader survived the strike that killed his father and wife after he stepped outside for a walk, it has emerged.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who is understood to have been badly wounded in the strike, survived after he stepped outside for a stroll in his garden.
Seconds later, the strike killed his father, wife, son and other members of Iran’s leadership.
Audio of an address delivered by Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol for Ali Khamenei’s office, was obtained and verified by the Telegraph.
It reveals that Mojtaba had stepped outside “to do something” when missiles struck their residence at 9.32am local time on Feb 28.
The aftermath of the strike on Khamenei's compound.Iranians are 'fighting an economic not military war,' insists former UK Ambassador to the US
Lord Kim Darroch, the former UK Ambassador to the US and former National Security Advisor has told LBC that Iranians are 'fighting an economic not military war'.
Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, he said: "I think the President is feeling rather vulnerable and at a bit of loss to know what to do because the Iranians are essentially fighting an economic war, not a military war, in response to the American attack.
"And I think they hadn't anticipated this."
Donald Trump 'was warned striking Iran would embolden regime' ahead of Operation Epic Fury
Donald Trump was given “very sober briefings” warning the Iranian regime would strengthen its hold on the country if the US attacked, sources say.
The US president was warned the government in Tehran would be weakened but would become more hardline in the face of a new supreme leader and a strengthened Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) acting as partners following strikes on the country.
He was given “very sobering briefings” on this assessment before giving the go ahead, intelligence sources told The New York Post.
“It wasn’t just predictable… It was predicted. He was told in advance,” one source said.
Iran 'negotiating' with FIFA in bid to move all World Cup games to Mexico
Iran's football federation are said to be engaging in discussions with FIFA over moving their World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico.
The potential move follows concerns over the footballers' safety, with Iranian football president, Mehdi Taj, insisting Trump had not guaranteed the safety of its players during the tournament.
Donald Trump last week insisted that Iran was welcome to participate in the upcoming tournament, but suggested it might not be appropriate for them to take part in matches “for their own life and safety”.
"When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America," said Taj in a post on the Iranian embassy in Mexico's X account.
"We are negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran's World Cup matches in Mexico."
United States president Donald Trump (left), who has assured FIFA that Iran are "welcome" to compete at this summer's World Cup