Hundreds are feared dead as attacks continue across the Middle East (Image: Getty)
The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and US President Donald Trump‘s calls for the overthrow of the decades-old Islamic Republic marked the start of a stunning new US intervention in the Middle East. As US and Israeli strikes pounded Iran, the Islamic Republic retaliated with missiles and drone attacks on Israel as well as nearby Arab Gulf countries hosting US forces.
Though Mr Trump called on Saturday for the Iranian people to « take over » their government, there was no sign in Tehran or elsewhere of unrest. Tensions soared in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the largest force of US warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. Below the Express details how the latest conflict between the US, Israel and Iran has unfolded so far.
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Friday, February 27
Trump hits out at Iran
US President Donald Trump says he is « not happy » with the latest talks over Iran’s nuclear programme.
He indicates he will give negotiators more time to reach a deal to avoid another war in the Middle East.
Mr Trump tells reporters at the White House: « We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating. They cannot have nuclear weapons. »
Saturday, February 28
The attack begins
The first report, from witnesses, emerged at 6.18am of an explosion in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, says his country has attacked Iran. He declares a state of emergency.
Iranian state television acknowledges the blast in Tehran, without providing more details.
At 6.36am, reports emerge that the apparent strike hit a location near the offices of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Three minutes later, reports come through of more explosions in Tehran. Iran shuts down its airspace, closely followed by Israel.
It emerges that the US was taking part in the attack. Iranian media says attacks are happening across the country. Iraq closes its airspace.
Trump speaks out on offensive as countries come under fire
Mr Trump confirms the US has begun « major combat operations in Iran ». He says Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles capable of reaching the US.
Explosions rock northern Israel as the country works to intercept incoming Iranian missiles. Sirens also sound in Jordan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the joint attack with the US was to « remove an existential threat » posed by Iran.
Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen decide to resume missile and drone attacks on shipping routes and on Israel in support of Iran.
The US Embassy in Qatar posts on social media that it told all personnel to shelter in place, adding « we recommend all Americans do the same until further notice ». US embassies in the United Arab Emirates and Israel post similar messages.
Explosions are heard in the sky over Lebanon and Syria. Israel confirms the operation against Iran had been planned for months.
Bahrain says the US 5th Fleet’s service centre has been attacked.
Blasts are heard in Qatar. Qatar’s Defence Ministry says its forces have shot down incoming missiles.
The Israeli military issues a warning in Persian for the immediate evacuation of areas near weapons production and military facilities in Iran.
The first deaths are reported
A drone strike hits a headquarters of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq, killing at least two people and wounding four others.
Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the capital of the United Arab Emirates kills one person.
Iran says Israeli-US airstrikes in the south killed five students at a girls’ school. The death toll will later rise to more than 50.
Israel’s national rescue service, MADA, says one man was slightly wounded in an attack in northern Israel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says the military struck the command of the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain as well as US bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Military targets were also targeted in Israel.
US and Israeli strikes target a growing list of cities and sites across Iran, according to Iranian state media.
Besides Tehran, there are reports of explosions in or near the major cities of Isfahan, Shiraz and Tabriz.
Blasts are also reported in several western towns as well as around Persian Gulf port cities that are critical to Iran’s major oil trade, including Asaluyeh.
Smoke rises near Irbil in Baghdad (Image: Getty)
Smoke is seen rising from a US base near the airport in Irbil, the regional capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region.
Kuwait’s national news agency says the Gulf country’s air defences successfully repelled what it called a « heinous Iranian attack » earlier in the day.
World leaders react as flights chaos erupts
Russia condemns the US and Israeli strikes. The EU calls for restraint. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer chairs a Cobra meeting.
Flights are disrupted across the Middle East and beyond.
Saudi Arabia says it has repelled an attack by Iran.
Keir Starmer says that while the UK didn’t participate in the attack on Iran, its planes provided air defence for its people and allies in the region.
Across the Middle East, governments move quickly to condemn Iran’s strikes on Arab neighbours, while staying silent on earlier Israeli and US attacks.
Iran’s state news agency says at least 15 people have been killed in Israel-US strikes in the country’s southwestern region.
Explosions are heard in Tehran near the country’s Intelligence Ministry.
Hundreds of people demonstrate in Baghdad in support of Iran and against the US-Israeli attacks.
Initial reports claim Iran’s Supreme Leader is dead
Israeli officials say Ayatollah Khamenei is dead. In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there were « growing signs » Khamenei had been killed.
Asked about reports that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been killed in the airstrikes, Mr Trump says: « We feel that that is a correct story. »
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tells an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that « everything must be done to prevent a further escalation » of the conflict.
Mr Trump says the death of Khamenei will not bring an end to the joint airstrikes by the US and Israel.
He says « heavy and pinpoint bombing » will continue through the week or longer.
Israel’s rescue services, Magen David Adom, says a woman in the Tel Aviv area has died after being injured in an Iranian missile attack.
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, says hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured on the first day of the « unprovoked and premeditated aggression against Iran ».
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is killed in the strikes (Image: Getty)
Sunday, March 1
Warnings conflict will escalate as Iran vows revenge
The Arab League says the Israeli-US airstrikes on Iran are « a moment when the Arab-Israeli conflict has expanded into a full-scale regional war ».
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he supports US actions to prevent Iran threatening international peace and security.
Iranian state media announces Ayatollah Khamenei’s death.
Iran’s government declares 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death.
Iran’s Cabinet warns this « great crime will never go unanswered ». Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says « regret-inducing punishment » is coming.
Global shipping firm CMA CGM instructs its vessels inside and bound for the Persian Gulf to shelter, citing the rapid military escalation and restrictions on traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatens to launch its « most intense offensive operation ».
Dubai, Qatar and others report further attacks
Dubai officials report that debris from an intercepted drone caused a fire on the surface of the city’s iconic Burj Al Arab hotel.
Authorities say debris from an aerial interception sparked a fire at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the city’s main sea terminal and a major global trans-shipment hub.
A council is formed to govern Iran after Khamenei’s killing. Under Iranian law, the Assembly of Experts « must, as soon as possible », pick a new supreme leader.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency announces the death of Major General Mohammad Pakpour, who took over as the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its previous commander in the 12-day June war.
State TV says Ali Shamkhani, long a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, was also killed amid the US-Israeli strikes.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker says the US and Israel face « devastating blows ».
Mr Trump warns Iran not to escalate its attacks, writing online that US forces will strike back with exceptional force.
Mizan News Agency reports that the death toll from Saturday’s strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran’s Minab county has risen to 148 killed and 95 wounded.
Qatar’s Interior Ministry says eight people were wounded early on Sunday in Iranian attacks on the country. It raises the total number of those wounded in Qatar since the strikes began to 16.
Demonstrations as calls to de-escalate mount
Protesters take to the streets in Baghdad to denounce the killing of Khamenei.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty calls for « de-escalation and prioritising diplomacy » to avert « comprehensive chaos » in the region.
Iranian state TV reports Iran’s chief of army staff and defence minister were killed in an airstrike targeting a meeting of the country’s defence council.
The commander of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, says his forces are taking part in military operations in the region during the first 24 hours of « Operation Epic Fury ».
Smoke rises over Doha as Iran continues to target countries across the Middle East (Image: Getty)
Some airports across the Middle East remain closed as the conflict continues into its second day, while flights worldwide have been cancelled.
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services say one person has been killed and 121 were injured in the first 24 hours of the conflict.
About 500 Shiite Muslims stormed the US Consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, smashing windows hours after reports of Khamenei’s death, local police report. At least six people have been killed.
After explosions in Dubai, smoke is seen rising over the area around Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest international airport, and the city-state’s Jebel Ali port.
Tens of thousands of people in Indian-controlled Kashmir stage massive demonstrations to denounce Khamenei’s killing.
A huge explosion resounds across Iran’s capital as the Israeli military says it is targeting the “heart” of the city.
Strait of Hormuz focus of attack
Oman says an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz came under attack, wounding four mariners on board.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office says shrapnel from a drone that was intercepted by air defence units fell at a tower in Abu Dhabi, slightly wounding a woman and her child.
Kuwait’s Defence Ministry says the military’s air defences repelled « a number of hostile aerial targets ».
Qatar’s Defence Ministry says the country’s air force and air defence units intercepted missiles and drones fired from Iran. There were no casualties.
The Bahrain News Agency, citing the National Communication Centre, says the country intercepted a wave of missiles and drones launched by Iran.
Putin condemns Khamenei killing as UK says missiles fired towards Cyprus
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the killing of Khamenei was « a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law ».
UK Defence Secretary John Healey says Iranian missile and drone strikes came within a few hundred yards of a group of 300 British military personnel in Bahrain.
He says two missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, where the UK has bases.
Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis posts on X that reports suggesting missiles had been fired toward Cyprus were not valid and « there is no indication whatsoever that any threat to the country has occurred ».
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says a new leadership council « has begun its work » to choose a new supreme leader.
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