live Major Oil Refinery In Saudi Arabia Hit By Drones

Supporters of Iran’s Islamic republic gathered in Tehran and several cities, including Tabriz, Mashhad, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Kermanshah, to mourn the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khameneii.

They waved black flags and chanted slogans, such as “Death to America,” “Death to Israel,” and “No compromise, no surrender in the battle with America.”

The Tehran government has declared seven days of public holidays and 40 days of national mourning.

The Organization of Religious Boards, a state-affiliated coordinating body, said it had converted religious groups into “neighborhood resistance headquarters.” It said the duties of these headquarters would include “active narrative-building,” “preventing the formation of destructive narratives,” and preparing to “manage information vacuums.”

Following the announcement of Khamenei's death, Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani, urged officials to focus on serving the public, while Iraq’s top Shi’a cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, offered condolences without issuing any specific fatwa or ruling.

Following continued US and Israeli attacks on Iran, media outlets in the country reported several explosions today in the capital, Tehran, on Sunday.

The Jamaran news website wrote that the "sound of heavy explosions has been heard in various parts of Tehran."

The Fars news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said that "the sound of several massive explosions caused by missile and air attacks was heard in Tehran in the Seyed Khandan and Qasr intersection areas” on Sunday.

It is not yet clear which sites were targeted.

Footage issued by the AFP news agency from Tehran on Sunday showed large plumes of black smoke rising over various parts of the capital following heavy explosions.

Also on Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces posted on X, saying that the country's air force was "striking targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran."

The reported attacks on Tehran come as the armed forces of the Islamic republic have been shelling and launching missile strikes at US positions in Iraq's Kurdistan region as well as several Gulf states

The US Embassy in Oman has issued a security alert, saying that "due to ongoing activity outside of Muscat" it has instructed staff to "shelter-in-place (i.e., take cover)" and is advising all Americans in Oman to do the same until further notice.

The embassy also urged US citizens to seek secure shelter, monitor local media, and keep communication devices charged.

At least nine people are dead after the US Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, was attacked. A Radio Mashaal correspondent at the scene confirmed the deaths after reports of gunfire between law enforcement and members of the Imamia Students Organization (ISO) as they attempted to storm the consulate premises.

The student protests were organized by pro-Iran Shia groups. Shia Muslims make up about 20 percent of Pakistan's population. The ISO is the student wing of Shia political parties in Pakistan. Meanwhile, in the northwestern city of Peshawar, ISO students also are gathering. Security has been placed on red alert around the US Consulate in Peshawar and the US Embassy in Islamabad.

Violent Pro-Iran Protest Hits US Consulate In Karachi

by RFE/RL

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Good morning.

We'll begin today’s live blog with reports of waves of blasts being heard over Dubai and Doha for a second day as Iran vows to retaliate for what US President Donald Trump has called "major combat operations" in concert with Israel against Tehran over its nuclear program. The massive strikes on Iran have killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other senior Iranian officials.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Defense Ministry has said in a statement that its air and air-defense forces intercepted and destroyed 137 ballistic missiles and 209 drones fired at UAE territory since the start of today's Iranian attack.

The ministry said that since the beginning of the attack, it detected 137 Iranian ballistic missiles fired at the UAE, of which 132 were destroyed and five crashed in coastal waters.

It also detected 209 Iranian drones, of which 195 were intercepted and 14 crashed in the country's territory and waters, causing some collateral damage.

The ministry stated that the UAE categorically rejects Iran's actions, which it said are a dangerous escalation of tensions and undermines stability.

Israel banned public gatherings, shut schools and workplaces and moved hospital patients to underground facilities on February 28 as Tehran launched missiles towards Israel in retaliation for a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, news agencies report.

Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency across the country, warning the public of Iranian missile and drone attacks.

The military ordered the public to follow emergency guidance as it announced tens of thousands of reservists were being called up for service, including to reinforce its land borders. The police urged against non-essential travel so as to allow security and emergency vehicles to move freely.

The US Embassy in Jerusalem advised government personnel to shelter in place, Reuters reports. People were seen rushing to buy food and withdraw money as explosions from missile interceptions echoed across the city.

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran, posts on X his reaction to reports of the death of Khamenei.

Ali Khamenei, the bloodthirsty despot of our time, the murderer of tens of thousands of Iran’s bravest sons and daughters, has been erased from the face of history. With his death, the Islamic Republic has in effect reached its end and will very soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Any attempt by the remnants of the regime to appoint a successor to Khamenei is doomed to fail from the outset. Whoever they place in his stead will have neither legitimacy nor longevity, and will undoubtedly be complicit in the crimes of this regime as well.

Citizens celebrating reports of Khamenei’s death in Iran’s northern city of Shahavar.

Here is our latest news story on the supreme leader's reported death.

Trump has just posted this on Truth Social:

Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS. He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do. This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country. We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us. As I said last night, “Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!” Hopefully, the IRGC and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves. That process should soon be starting in that, not only the death of Khamenei but the Country has been, in only one day, very much destroyed and, even, obliterated. The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Please stay with us for continued coverage.