Tehran/New Delhi, Mar 1, (.) Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a coordinated US-Israeli military strike on Tehran early Sunday, US President Donald Trump and Iranian State media confirmed.
Iranian State media said Ali Khamenei was killed in strikes that targeted areas in northern Tehran, including locations near his compound and offices. Multiple missiles hit areas close to the presidential palace in Shemiran and near the Supreme Leader’s residence.
Although the Iranian Presidential spokesman had said on Saturday after the attacks that Ali Khameini was safe and had already been moved out of Tehran, the Iranian State media confirmed the death on Sunday.
Photos released by the White House showed President Trump closely monitoring the strikes on Iran from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe during the tense operation.
Trump, while announcing Khamenei’s death on his social media platform, said ‘’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…’’ Trump also said ‘’other leaders’’ had been killed along with him (Khamenei). He, however, did not name those leaders.
Trump said Khamenei was unable to avoid US Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems, and, working closely with Israel, there was nothing he or the other leaders who had been killed along with him could do.
He said the US has been hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces no longer wanted to fight, and were looking for Immunity from the US. He offered immunity to the Iranian soldiers, saying, “Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!”
Trump also warned that the ‘’heavy and pinpoint bombing would continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of Peace throughout the Middle East and the world.’’
In retaliation, Iran launched a new wave of missile and drone strikes on Sunday targeting US military bases in the region and Israel, state media said. Twenty-seven US bases in the region, as well as Israel’s military headquarters and a Defence industries complex in Tel Aviv, were among the targets, Iranian state TV said.
The IRGC announced that in the fifth wave of Operation True Promise4 (Iran has named the Operation True Promise4) in the Indian Ocean, the MSP ship, which was carrying ammunition for American vessels, was hit by four drones at the Jebel Ali anchorage and was completely disabled with damage and explosions.
It said four ballistic missiles and 12 drones hit the American naval base in the Abdullah Mubarak area of Kuwait. All the infrastructure was destroyed, and a large number of American forces were killed and injured.
Also, the MST-class combat support ship, which was carrying fuel for American vessels in the Indian Ocean, was hit by Iranian Qadr 380 missiles. The IRGC Navy, along with the air force, will keep the gates of hell open to enemy units.
The IRGC said the American FP-132 radar, with a range of 5,000 kilometres and stationed in Qatar, equipped with unique technology used to intercept ballistic missiles, has been destroyed.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed retaliation for the killing of Ali Khamenei, warning that those responsible would “regret it.” “This great crime will never remain unanswered,” his office said in a statement on Sunday.
Trump warned, saying ‘’Iran just stated they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. They better not do that. However, if they do, we will hit them with a force that has never been seen before.’’
The Middle East airspace has been severely disrupted. Iran, Israel, Iraq, the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar have all indefinitely closed their airspace, causing massive flight diversions and groundings worldwide.
. RB 1208
