The Latest : Israel hits Tehran as Iran counterattacks widen after supreme leader is killed

yakimaherald.com · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran continued for a second day on Sunday after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threw the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raised the risk of regional instability.There were explosions in Tehran on Sunday as Israel said it was taking its attacks to the “heart” of Iran’s capital.Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at Israel and at U.S. military installations around the Gulf, and also at the Saudi capital and the global business hub of Dubai. Earlier Sunday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever, targeting Israel and U.S. bases.Iran also selected a 66-year-old cleric to join the three-member leadership council that will govern the country until a new supreme leader is selected.Here is the latest:Hundred in Iraq mourn the killing of Iran's leaderHundreds of Iraqis have decried the killing of Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and expressed solidarity with the Islamic Republic.The mourners wore black and waved flags belonging to Iran-backed Iraqi militias and red flags that symbolize vengeance in the Shiite Muslim faith as they marched across Sadr City. Some held Iran flags and portraits of Khamenei, who was killed in a series of countrywide American and Israeli strikes across the Islamic Republic.Iraq has for years tried to balance a delicate relationship with both the U.S. and Iran, and has called for an end to the conflict and a return to dialogue.Iran’s retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases have struck a handful of cities across the Mideast, several in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.US senator disagrees with Trump’s ‘gamble’ on IranA leading U.S. senator says he fears that President Donald Trump will cause “a more repressive, more aggressive Iranian regime” by “choosing the path of war when diplomacy was still within reach.”Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also says he hopes “our national security apparatus is as prepared as it can be for attacks anywhere in the world against the United States and our interests.”Coons says he understands Trump “taking a bold gamble” given how “weak” the Iranian leadership was, “but I disagree with this gamble at this point.”OPEC Plus will increase oil productionOPEC Plus, a group of eight oil-producing countries, says it will increase oil production by 206,000 barrels a day in April in an effort to mitigate the impact on oil prices during the latest conflict in the Middle East.The group, which includes Arab Gulf countries and Russia, has said in a statement that its members will “closely monitor and assess market conditions, and in their continuous efforts to support market stability.”New leadership council begins its work in IranIran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that a new leadership council “has begun its work” after the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Pezeshkian made the comment in a prerecorded message aired on Iranian state television.Pezeshkian is one of three officials on the council. The other two are head of judiciary cleric Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei and Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi.Another vessel attacked in Strait of HormuzA second vessel has come under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, according to an agency of the British military.The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center said that the attack happened off Mina Saqr, United Arab Emirates.It said that the vessel had been hit by a projectile that caused a fire. The blaze was extinguished and the vessel will continue on its way.Another vessel earlier in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran also came under attack. The attacks come as Iranian officials reportedly have been threatening vessels transiting the strait over the radio.The Strait of Hormuz sees a fifth of the world’s traded oil pass through it.1 killed, 20 wounded in Kuwait in latest barrage from IranKuwait’s Ministry of Health says one person has been killed and 20 people have been wounded in new retaliatory attacks by Iran.The country’s news agency reported the latest toll. None of the casualties are Kuwaiti citizens, the ministry said.A dozen people were injured in Kuwait in previous attacks on Saturday.The Kuwaiti army said Sunday that it has destroyed a number of ballistic missiles and drones launched against the Gulf country “since the start of the Iranian aggression.”The spokesperson for the Kuwaiti defense ministry, Saud Abdulaziz al-Otwan, said in a statement 97 Iranian ballistic missiles launched toward the State of Kuwait were detected, along with 283. He said debris falling on facilities led to “minor material damage.”North Korea condemns strikes on IranNorth Korea has condemned the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran as an “illegal act of aggression” and “the most despicable form of violation of sovereignty.”The North’s foreign ministry in a statement on Sunday said the attack shows how they continue to destabilize the region by pursuing hegemonic interests under the pretext of “fake peace.”North Korea has suspended meaningful dialogue with Washington since 2019, when a summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump during his first term collapsed over disagreements on exchanging the release of U.S.-led sanctions and the North’s denuclearization steps.Pyongyang and Tehran were among the few governments in the world that supported Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and both have been accused of providing Russia with military equipment.US priority is Iran's ‘vast missile arsenal'The chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee says a priority for its joint military campaign is Iran’s “vast missile arsenal.”Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that those missiles threatened American troops “from bases as far flung as the Indian Ocean to Western Europe.”“We’re stopping a lot of them from being fired before Iran can fire them. It’s much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrows out of the sky,” he said in the television interview.3 people killed in the UAEThe United Arab Emirates' Defense Ministry said Sunday that three people have been killed so far in Iranian attacks on the country.The ministry said Iran had launched 165 ballistic missiles targeting the country, of which 152 were destroyed. Thirteen fell into the sea, it added.Iran launched 541 bomb-carrying drones at the UAE, of which 506 were destroyed. Another 35 struck the country, killing three people from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, while 58 others were wounded.Iran has launched 97 ballistic missiles at KuwaitIran fired 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones at Kuwait since the start of the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, the Gulf nation’s military said.The military said in a statement interception operations led to shrapnel falling in parts of the county, causing “limited damage.”On Saturday, the military said three Kuwaiti troops were wounded when shrapnel landed in the Ali Al Salem air base.At least 6 killed in IsraelIsrael’s police said at least five people were killed and 23 others wounded in a strike that hit central Israel on Sunday.A spokesperson for the rescue services said searches were ongoing for additional victims.Iran has so far launched dozens of rockets at Israel.Czech government is ready to evacuate citizens via EgyptThis is to help transport Czech nationals from Israel and other countries in the Middle East to their home country.Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the Czechs who are in Israel will have to travel by bus to Egypt because the airspace of several countries in the region has been closed.Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said eight planes were available for the transport.Pakistani prime minister offers condolences over Khamenei's killingPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday conveyed his condolences to Tehran following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.He said his country was gravely concerned about the violation of international law, as heads of state shouldn’t be targeted.Saudi Arabia summons Iranian ambassadorThis follows repeated Iranian attacks on the kingdom.The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the country expressed “dismay, condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian attacks on the kingdom and the Gulf states.”It added that the kingdom “will take all necessary measures to defend its security and protect its territory.”South Korea prepares plans to ensure safety of nationals in MideastSouth Korea says it’s preparing emergency evacuation plans and considering the deployment of response teams to the Middle East to guarantee the safety of South Korean nationals.The Foreign Ministry said Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina chaired back-to-back meetings over the weekend with officials from the country’s embassies in Iran and Israel, as well as other Middle East missions, to assess the conflict’s impact on the safety of Korean nationals.There are about 60 South Koreans in Iran and about 600 in Israel, including about 100 short-term visitors, according to the ministry. No casualties among South Koreans had been reported as of Sunday, but Kim warned that uncertainty in the region could intensify.Turkey's top diplomat holds call with Iranian counterpartTurkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a telephone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, during which the two exchanged views on the latest developments, a Turkish official said.Turkey has voiced concern over recent U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran as well as Iranian strikes targeting Gulf countries. Ankara has also called for a ceasefire and a return to negotiations to de-escalate tensions.Israel’s state plane moved to Berlin airportIsrael’s state plane has been moved to Berlin’s BER airport, according to a reporter at the German press agency, dpa, who said they saw the craft at the tarmac.According to dpa, which quoted Flightradar data, the plane left Israel Sat