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Issued on: 01/03/2026 - 07:02Modified: 01/03/2026 - 07:29
By: FRANCE 24 Government supporters chant slogans as they gather in mourning after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in the poster, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. © Vahid Salemi, AP US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened Iran with “force that has never been seen before” if it retaliates against US and Israeli strikes that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
Hundreds of Iraqis are trying to storm Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy is located, after the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, an AFP journalist reported.
“Their attempts had been thwarted so far, but they keep trying,” a security source said.
Witnesses said protesters, some holding flags of pro-Iran armed groups, threw stones at security forces, who responded with tear gas.
Local media reported protests in other provinces in southern Iraq.
Several Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups said Saturday they will not remain “neutral” and will defend the Islamic republic. The powerful group Kataeb Hezbollah said it will attack US bases after two of its fighters were killed in air strikes in southern Iraq. Early Sunday, loud explosions were heard near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States on Saturday, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.
Read more about Khamenei and his rise to the top here:
Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani is warning against attempts to divide Iran following the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Groups seeking to divide Iran should know that we will not tolerate it,” said Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, in an interview broadcast on state TV, calling on Iranians to unite.
For those of you who have just woken up, these are the biggest news developments overnight:
Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was allegedly killed in a joint US-Israeli military operation on Saturday.
The news was first announced by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was later confirmed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian state media.
Several journalists working in Dubai reported hearing a second wave of explosions early Sunday, as Iran carried out retaliatory attacks on the Gulf following US and Israeli strikes that killed the supreme leader.
Earlier blasts were heard in Dubai, Doha and the Bahraini capital Manama.
Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said the transition process following the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin from Sunday.
“An interim leadership council will soon be formed. The president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council will assume responsibility until the election of the next leader,” said Larijani, the head of Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, who was an adviser to Khamenei.
“This council will be established as soon as possible. We are working to form it as early as today,” he said in an interview broadcast by state TV.
President Donald Trump warns the United States will hit Iran with “force that has never been seen before” if the country retaliated against US and Israeli strikes that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran indicated it was “going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” wrote Trump, who has vowed to seek regime change in the Islamic republic, on his Truth Social platform.
“THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!” he said.
The bombing campaign by the US and Israel—which followed a massive military buildup in the Middle East unseen since the 2003 invasion of Iraq—killed Khamenei, Iranian state television confirmed Sunday. Iran has since retaliated, with reported Iranian strikes across the Gulf, including in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi and near regional US military bases.
Trump has said the US bombing will continue “as long as necessary” and noted Khamenei’s killing gives Iranians their “greatest chance” for taking power from the current regime.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in Israeli and US strikes, Iranian state media confirmed.
Iran state television announced a 40-day mourning period and seven public holidays following the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been in power since 1989.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday celebrated US-Israeli airstrikes that killed Iran's leader, but warned attacks would continue.
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