Middle East in flame : what the papers say about the war on Iran

aol.co.uk · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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The papers lead on momentous news from the Middle East after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran.Composite: The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Mirror, The Sun and Sunday Express (Composite: The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Mirror, The Sun and Sunday Express)The US and Israeli attacks on Iran dominated the front pages of papers around the world on Sunday, alongside Donald Trump’s claim that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed, a claim that was later confirmed by state media.From Ankara to Zurich, the US president’s extraordinary daytime attack on Iran was reported with a mixture of fear, anger and elation, with the questions of what comes next a recurring theme across the global media.The New York Times editorial board published an opinion piece headlined “Trump’s attack on Iran is reckless”.While noting that “nobody should mourn the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei”, the paper goes on to say that the presidents’s “goals are ill-defined”, he has failed to line up “international and domestic support” and he has “disregarded both domestic and international law for warfare.”An essay from Iranian-American writer Amir Ahmadi Arian notes “The Outlook Is Grim for a Freer Iran”.The Sunday Telegraph leads with a large picture of Trump next to a map of the Middle East and the headline “Khamenei ‘dead in rubble’.” Below the splash is analysis written by John Bolton, a former national security adviser to Donald Trump, that argues “President needs Iranian commanders to turn against regime”.The Sunday Times leads on: “Ayatollah killed in blitz from America and Israel”, noting that Donald Trump has urged Iranians to “take back their country”.The Sunday Mirror said simply “Middle East in flames”. The front page picture is of a drone attack on an apartment block in Bahrain.The Murdoch-owned New York Post has an editorial headlined “Trump’s bold move to rid the world of Iran’s evil regime once and for all”.“However this plays out, it’s easily the most significant single action in the Middle East in decades, perhaps centuries,” the paper’s editorial reads.The Jerusalem Post tweeted out its front page with the comment, “Some front pages you frame.” Above an image of a protester burning a picture of the Ayatollah, the paper’s headline simply reads “Khamenei dead”.Already in the midst of Iranian reprisal attacks, the Post appeared to acknowledge that more was to come, with a sub-head that reads “Israelis willing to suffer Tehran’s worst”.In Turkey, the country’s highly read daily Hürriyet says “Israel incited it, the US attacked”.The paper quotes Trump’s message that Iranians should “overthrow the regime” and makes a point to say that “Turkey did not support the attack.”Under a split image of Trump and Khamenei, Switzerland’s Blick has “Trump’s biggest war”, its subhead saying the “regime change was historic”.France’s La Tribune asks if it is “The end of the Mullahs?” The paper looks at the “life and death of a religious tyrant”.The Sunday edition of Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post leads with “Trump calls on Iranian people to rise up”.The Mail on Sunday was among a number of UK papers to lead on the threat to British holidaymakers, with the headline “British tourists blitzed and Iran’s leader ‘dead’ as Middle East erupts”. The Star took a similar line with “Brits Dubai missile terror” while the Sunday People warned tourists to “Get to shelter”.