Trump-Iran latest: President issues fresh warning to Tehran if it retaliates following Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing – UK Times

Pakistani police have said that at least nine people have been killed in protests over the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in Karachi.

Tear gas was fired on Sunday to scatter protesters who breached the outer wall of the US consulate in the southern city of Karachi following news of US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Pro-Iranian protesters also gathered outside the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, where the U.S. Embassy is located.

In Karachi, protesters had been pushed back from the consulate, a spokesman for the local government said. Reuters reporter heard sounds of gunfire and video footage from the scenes showed burning vehicles outside the consulate’s main gate.

No casualties were reported in the clashes. U.S. diplomats in the consulate were not immediately available for comment.

The Israel Defence Forces have confirmed the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a statement.

The military group said: “The IDF has brought to an end a decades-long chapter with the elimination of the leader of the Iranian terror axis.

“His elimination joins a series of eliminations of senior members of the terror axis carried out by the IDF during the war.

“Ali Khamenei’s elimination reflects the promise between the IDF and the citizens of the State of Israel — to strike and thwart any actor that seeks to harm the State of Israel, anywhere and at any time.”

The US embassy in Oman has instructed their staff and all Americans to shelter in place until further notice due to “ongoing activity” outside of the capital city Muscat.

It comes as their state news agency reports that their Duqm commercial port has been targeted by two drones.

British Airways is offering refunds to passengers who are booked to travel between London, Heathrow and six Middle East destinations: Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai or Tel Aviv.

The airline grounded outbound flights to the region on Sunday. BA is telling passengers: “If you are due to fly between London Heathrow and you can change your flight free of charge up to and including 6 March. Customers travelling up to and including 4 March may also request a full refund.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and have cancelled a number of our flights to the Middle East. Safety is always our top priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so.”

Virgin Atlantic has cancelled flights to Dubai and Riyadh.

Loud blasts were heard in Dubai and the Qatari capital Doha for the second day on Sunday, witnesses said, as Iran’s retaliatory strikes on neighbouring Gulf states in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic widened.

Iran had said it would target U.S. bases in the region but it has hit a range of other targets across Gulf cities.

Two people were injured in Dubai after shrapnel from drones fell over two houses when they were intercepted, a Dubai Media office statement said.

Dubai’s international airport, its landmark Burj Al Arab hotel and posh man-made Palm Jumeirah Island all suffered damage.

Thick black plumes of smoke continued to rise from the Jebel Ali port area where one of the berths caught fire earlier on Sunday because of debris from an aerial interception of a missile.

Dubai is the biggest tourism and trade hub in the Middle East and its airport is one of the world’s busiest travel hubs.

Qatar’s interior ministry said on Sunday it was responding to a limited fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile.

Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said a temporary leadership council would be set up.

He accused the United States and Israel of trying to plunder and disintegrate Iran and warned “secessionist groups” of a harsh response if they attempt action, state television said.

In remarks directed at Trump and his close ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said they had crossed a red line and would “pay for it”.

A source briefed on the Israeli campaign told Reuters there had been no change in military strategy after the killing of Khamenei and that strikes would continue to target Iranian officials and missile infrastructure.

• Iran confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was killed in a joint U.S. and Israeli airstrike at his Tehran office on Saturday. Iranian state TV said he “consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance.”

• The strike came after months of intelligence gathering, and U.S. president Donald Trump said Khamenei’s death gives Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. Trump also called Khamenei “one of the most evil people in History” in a social media post.

• Iran’s cabinet condemned the killings, saying the “great crime will never go unanswered.” The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard promised its “most intense offensive operation” ever, targeting Israeli and U.S. bases. Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said, “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price. We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”

• Trump responded: “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

• Iran launched missiles and drones targeting Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. Israel said dozens of missiles were fired at its territory, with many intercepted. Magen David Adom, Israel’s medical emergency service, reported one civilian death near Tel Aviv.

• Flights across the Middle East were disrupted. In Dubai, explosions from air defence fire and shrapnel killed one person and caused fires at the city’s main port and the Burj Al Arab hotel.

• The strike also killed the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, and senior security adviser Ali Shamkhani. Iran quickly formed a council to govern until a new supreme leader is chosen.

Iran’s chief of army staff and defence minister were killed in an airstrike targeting a meeting of the country’s defence council, Iranian state television reported Sunday.

General Abdol Rahim Mousavi and defence minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed at the meeting alongside the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and security adviser Ali Shamkhani, whose deaths Iran previously announced on Sunday morning.

A Chinese organisation is registering Chinese citizens in Iran for evacuation to neighboring countries, according to a media report.

More than 200 Chinese are scattered across Iran, Tan Kai, the president of the Iran Federation of Chinese Organisations, told the Global Times newspaper. The group is making evacuation preparations at the instruction of the Chinese Embassy, Tan said.

An embassy statement said the land borders with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey were open for individuals wishing to depart on their own.

In Israel, the Chinese embassy advised citizens to move to safe areas away from the centers of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem and airports, power stations and similar sites.

It said it would begin registering citizens on Sunday who wish to evacuate to Egypt and cannot do so on their own.