Dubai, Mar 2 (AP) The US and Israel pounded targets across Iran on Sunday, dropping massive bombs on the country’s ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Blasts rattled windows across the country and sent plumes of smoke high into the sky above Tehran. More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Khamenei and other senior leaders, Iranian leaders have said.
Iran vowed revenge, firing missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states in a counteroffensive that the US military said resulted in the deaths of three service members — the first known American casualties from the conflict. Israeli rescue services said strikes had hit several locations, including Jerusalem and a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh, where nine people were killed and 28 wounded, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 11. Eleven people were still missing after the strike, police said.
But the attacks on Iran showed no signs of relenting as the US and Israel took aim at key military, political and intelligence targets in what appeared to be a widening war that carried the potential for a prolonged conflict that could envelop the Middle East and destabilize it. The strikes represented a startling show of military might for an American president who swept into office on an “America First” platform and pledged to keep out of “forever wars.” Trump vows vengeance for US deaths — US President Donald Trump said in a video posted to social media that the US would “avenge” the deaths of the service members and that “there will likely be more” killed before the conflict ends.
Israel, which had pledged “nonstop” strikes, said it was increasing its attacks, with 100 fighter jets simultaneously striking targets in Tehran, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told reporters at a briefing. The targets included buildings belonging to Iran’s air force, its missile command and its internal security force, which violently quashed anti-government protests in January.
The US military, meanwhile, said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Trump said on social media that nine Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy’s headquarters had been “largely destroyed.” Europe has mostly stayed out of the war and pressed for diplomacy, but in an indication that the conflict could draw in other nations, Britain, France and Germany said Sunday they were ready to work with the US to help stop Iran’s attacks.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would allow the United States to use its bases to strike Iranian missile sites. The UK maintains nearby bases on Cyprus and the Chagos Islands, a British archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
The weekend attacks were the second time in eight months that the US and Israel had combined against Iran. In the 12-day war last June, Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s air defences, military leadership and nuclear program. But the killing of Khamenei, who ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability.
Trump, who a day earlier had encouraged Iranians to “take over” their government, signalled Sunday that he was open to dialogue with Iran’s new leadership.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” he told The Atlantic.
Iranian strikes extend beyond US and Israel – In the Gulf, Iran’s retaliatory strikes went beyond US and Israeli targets, pushing the conflict into cities that have long marketed themselves as regional safe havens.
The foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain said Sunday that their countries retain “the legal right to respond and the right to self-defense” after Iranian strikes hit hotels, airports and other sites in multiple cities throughout the Gulf.
In the United Arab Emirates, authorities said most Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted. But some either got through or fell as debris, killing three people, injuring others and causing significant damage.
Bahrain and Kuwait said Iranian strikes in both countries hit civilian targets.
Israel fires on Lebanese capital— In other developments, Israel launched a barrage of strikes on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, after the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired missiles across the border early Monday.
It was the first time in more than a year that Hezbollah has claimed a strike against Israel. The Israeli military said it intercepted a projectile that crossed the border and that several others fell in open areas. No injuries or damage were reported.
Hezbollah said in a statement that the strikes were carried out in retaliation for the killing of Khamenei and for “repeated Israeli aggressions.” Streets of Tehran are largely deserted – In Tehran, there was little sign that Iranians had heeded Trump’s call for an uprising against the government.
The streets were largely deserted as people sheltered during airstrikes, witnesses told The Associated Press, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution. The paramilitary Basij, which has played a central role in crushing protests, set up checkpoints across the city, they said.
Two powerful explosions were heard in Tehran’s Niavaran neighborhood late Sunday.
An eyewitness in the city told AP that the windows of their apartment shook violently, and residents came out onto the streets fearing it was too dangerous to stay inside. The witness spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Video footage from Tehran showed plumes of smoke filling the skyline, and the official IRNA news agency reported that parts of the building of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) were struck Sunday.
In southern Iran, at least 165 people were killed Saturday when a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, IRNA reported. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in the area. The US military said it was looking into the reports.
Chance to kill senior leaders was a golden opportunity’ — An Israeli military official described Saturday’s mission against the Iranian leadership as the result of months of “extremely high coordination” with the US The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a covert operation, said a variety of factors created a “golden opportunity.” Those factors included weeks of training and monitoring the movements of senior figures, along with “real time intelligence” that the targets were gathered together.
The results, the official said, were near-simultaneous strikes, within 60 seconds of one another, in three locations 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometres) from Israel that killed Khamenei and some 40 senior figures, including the head of the Revolutionary Guard and the country’s defence minister.(AP) RD RD
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