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

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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:

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that despite the attacks on his country, “nothing has changed in our … military capability.”

He tells ABC’s “This Week” that in only a few hours after Iran was struck, Tehran retaliated against Israeli targets and American bases “and we have continued to do so. So, our military is in place. They are capable enough to defend our country.”

Asked whether a diplomatic deal with the Trump administration was still possible, he said, “We negotiated with the United States twice in the past 12 months. And in both cases, they attacked us in the middle of negotiation. And that has become a very bitter experience for us.”

He said “a deal was at our reach, and we left Geneva happily with the understanding that we can reach a deal next time we meet.”

First responders dug through rubble in a search for survivors hours after a missile struck a synagogue in a central Israeli town.

At least nine people were killed in the Beit Shemesh region, according to Israeli police. It’s the deadliest attack on Israel since it launched attacks on Iran jointly with the U.S. on Saturday.

The victims were sheltering in a safe room in the synagogue when a missile struck it, according to emergency responders, who said the number of dead could rise.

Crowds of people from the community gathered Sunday overlooking the gaping hole in the ground where the missile struck. The area was surrounded by bombed-out cars, slabs of concrete and houses with their roofs blown off.

“It’s really sad that people came to hide and actually died in a synagogue,” said Chaim Stenge, 13.

Residents said they want the war to continue. “Bibi and Trump well done,” said Hagit Ben Ezra, referring to the Israeli and American leaders. “Bibi Netanyahu has to kill Hamas and Iran so there’s quiet in the Middle East.”

Hundreds of protesters gathered at multiple locations in Istanbul to denounce the Israeli-U.S. attacks on Iran. A demonstration in front of Israel’s Consulate ended with protesters burning the U.S. and Israeli flags as well as posters of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A protest was also held near city hall, where people chanted and held up signs against Israel and the United States.

“We reject and denounce American oppression and America’s actions,” one of the protesters, Ahmet Agirakca, told The Associated Press. “We have gathered here not only to condemn but also to show that we will fight against them for the rest of our lives.”

Another protester, Ali Emre, said he was there to show solidarity with Muslims “and to protest Trump, the USA, and global imperialism.”

A doctor in northern Iran said he and colleagues spent the early hours of Sunday celebrating indoors news of the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, because armed security forces were heavily deployed in his city.

Security forces were stopping and interrogating people celebrating in their cars, he said, but there was no gunfire.

“It was one of the best nights, if not the best night of our lives,” the doctor said in a voice message from the city of Rasht in northern Iran. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “It was actually my first time ever smoking a cigarette. ... We didn’t sleep at all. And we don’t even feel tired.”

The U.S. military is pushing back against claims by Iran’s leadership that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was struck in an attack, stating that the “missiles launched didn’t even come close.”

U.S. Central Command said in a post on X that the American warship continues to launch aircraft. The Lincoln is one of two aircraft carriers that the U.S. military has deployed to the region.

Central Command posted its statement shortly after releasing another statement that three U.S. service members have been killed in the U.S. military operation against Iran.

Iranians in Berlin and Vienna took to the streets to celebrate the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Hundreds gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. They held pre-1979 Iranian flags as well as Israeli and American flags, as they danced and sang near the Brandenburg Gate.

Demonstrators included supporters of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah overthrown during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

More than 1,000 people also celebrated in Vienna, according to the city police quoted by the Austrian press agency.

Hundreds of supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group gathered south of Beirut to mourn the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

They chanted anthems and slogans paying tribute to Khamenei and Iran. They waved the flags of Iran and Hezbollah, some beating their chests.

Hezbollah is Iran’s most powerful proxy in the region, but it suffered heavy losses in a monthslong war with Israel in 2024. It has not taken military action in solidarity with Tehran, as Lebanon’s political leadership tries to keep the nation out of the conflict for fears of a spillover.

The U.S. military says three service members have been killed and five seriously wounded in the Iran operation.

Central Command made the announcement on social media Sunday without providing additional information.

Italy blamed Iran for provoking the U.S. and Israeli attack, saying its hardening position about its nuclear and long-range missile aspirations had “posed a threat to everyone.”

“The obvious issue was the atomic bomb and the increase in the production of long-range missiles that posed a threat to everyone,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Sunday.

Tajani also strongly condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes as “senseless” and said they had only served to further isolate Tehran. He said countries hit by Iran had the right to respond.

“I hope the situation doesn’t worsen but I sensed a strong irritation of all the ministers and leaders of countries hit by Iran about the Tehran regime,” Tajani said.

Sirens ring out periodically in Jerusalem to signal incoming missiles from Iran, but the warnings are received differently in different parts of the city.

In the west of the city, where most Israelis live, the streets are relatively empty, though some kids could be seen running around in neighborhood playgrounds. It seemed Israelis are mainly staying close to home so they can get to shelters quickly if necessary.

In the east of the city, however, Palestinian residents go about their normal lives, shopping for meals during the holy month of Ramadan. There are some public shelters in east Jerusalem but they are far less common than in the west.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said that the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is creating uncertainty about the trajectory of the conflict.

“We have had very little visibility into what happens next after the supreme leader is eliminated,” Warner told CNN on Sunday. “I think we still don’t know what is happening next.”

Warner said he hoped the Iranian people would rise up, but he didn’t believe that would be the outcome. He said the fear is that the U.S. is seeing the “opening salvos” of “what could be a sustained war in the region.”

Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, said it has paused vessels’ traffic through the Ban el-Mandab Strait and the Suez Canal.

The company said in a statement Sunday it has decided to reroute the ships from the Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen had targeted vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea in 2024 and 2025.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized that diplomacy remains “the most rational path forward” during a telephone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

According to a statement from the Turkish presidency, Erdogan also extended his well‑wishes to Saudi Arabia following recent attacks on the country and warned that, without decisive action, the conflict could escalate with “serious consequences for both regional and global security.”

Hundreds 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 U.S. 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.

A 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, 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.”

Iran’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.

A 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.

Kuwait’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 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.

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.

The 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 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.

Israel’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.

This 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.

Prime 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.

This 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 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.

Turkish 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 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 Saturday afternoon, circled over the Mediterranean for hours, and then landed in Berlin in the evening.

Israel’s state aircraft, “Wing of Zion,” is a Boeing 767 equipped for official government trips, serving both the president and the prime minister.

There have been no immediate comments from the Berlin airport or the Israeli embassy in Berlin.

Saudi Arabia has condemned in “the strongest terms” Iran’s attacks on the capital, Riyadh and the eastern region, which it said were “successfully intercepted.”

The Saudi foreign ministry said Sunday in a statement the attacks came “despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”

U.S. embassies and consulates across the Middle East instructed employees to shelter in place for a second day on Sunday as joint U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran continue and Iran launches missile and drone strikes in retaliation.

Embassies in Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia all advised private American citizens living or traveling in those countries to take similar precautions.

The State Department on Saturday issued a “worldwide caution,” warning Americans abroad everywhere, but particularly in the Middle East, to boost their personal security profiles.

“Following the launch of U.S. combat operations in Iran, Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East should follow the guidance in the latest security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate,” it said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country will have “a non-stop air train” of strikes against military and leadership targets in Iran.

Israel launched massive strikes that rocked Iran’s capital of Tehran on Sunday morning. Iran simultaneously launched multiple projectiles toward Israel.

An Israeli military spokesperson said Sunday that he is not aware of any Israeli or American strikes in the area of a school in southern Iran where more than 100 people died.

State-run IRNA news agency said a strike hit an all-girls school in the town of Minab on Saturday.

On Saturday, U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said he was “aware of reports” and that the U.S. is investigating.

Pope Leo XIV said Sunday he was “profoundly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and urged both sides to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”

In the Holy See’s first reaction to the attacks, the American pope called for the resumption of diplomacy and a “reasonable, authentic and responsible” dialogue based on justice.

Weapons only sow “destruction, pain and death," he said from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at his traditional noontime blessing.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi sharply criticized the killing of Khamenei in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

“The blatant killing of the leader of a sovereign state and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying by China’s official Xinhua News Agency. “These actions violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations.”

He said attacking a sovereign state without U.N. Security Council authorization undermines the foundation for peace established after World War II.

“The international community should speak in a clear and unequivocal voice, opposing the world regressing to the law of the jungle,” he said.

Serbia says the country’s embassy building in Tehran was damaged in military strikes on Iran, but that no one was injured. The state RTS broadcaster posted a video of the building showing some windows shattered and glass on the ground. The report said that the apparent target was a military base that is located in the area.

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said embassy staff were pulling out and moving to Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. Serbia traditionally has good relations with Iran stemming from the era of the Communist-run former Yugoslavia, which broke up in the 1990s.

Iran has 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.

Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi has been a member of both the constitutional watchdog Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts that will choose the next leader. He was hand-picked by late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a member of the Guardian Council in 2019.

Arafi joins President Masoud Pezeshkian and the head of judiciary cleric Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei on the council.

British Defense Minister John Healey said Iranian missile and drone strikes came within a few hundred yards (meters) of a group of 300 British military personnel in Bahrain and that two missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, where the U.K. has bases.

“We don’t believe they were targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless, it’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that requires us to act,” Healey told Sky News.

He said British planes will intercept any Iranian drones and missiles they see.

Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis posted on X that reports suggesting missiles had been fired toward Cyprus are not valid and that “there is no indication whatsoever that any threat to the country has occurred.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was “a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”

Putin on Sunday sent condolences to his Iranian counterpart, saying Khamenei will be remembered “as an outstanding statesman” who helped elevate Russian-Iranian relations.

In Lebanon, the leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, Naim Kassem, mourned Khamenei’s death in a U.S.-Israeli strike, and said: “We will fulfill our duty in confronting aggression.” He vowed that Hezbollah will not abandon its resistance of confronting American and Israeli “tyranny.”

The Omani port of Duqm, which Iran struck Sunday, has been used by the U.S. Navy as a logistical hub and is capable of hosting aircraft carriers.

The U.S. and Oman signed a strategic framework agreement in 2019 that expanded the Navy’s access to Omani ports by allowing ships to dock in Duqm and Salalah.

Both ports lie on Oman’s Arabian Sea coast, allowing ships to dock without having to transit the narrow Strait of Hormuz to access other major ports in the Persian Gulf. Oman and Iran front the Strait of Hormuz.

The Navy has used access to Duqm for ship maintenance and replenishment, which typically involves activities such as refueling and loading of supplies. The United Kingdom also has a logistics base at the port.

The sultanate of Oman has long tried to keep a lower profile in the region. It has frequently acted as a bridge between the U.S. and Iran, most recently mediating talks between the two countries in Geneva.

Israel’s military claimed Sunday that its strikes had killed 40 top Iranian military officials, including the chief of staff for the Iranian armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi. Israel did not provide evidence, and neither Iran nor the United States immediately commented on the claim.

The Israeli military also said it had “dismantled the majority of the aerial defense systems in western and central Iran” and was “paving the way towards establishing aerial superiority over the skies of Tehran.”

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt has warned that the Middle East could slide into chaos as the conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran entered a second day.

He called for “dialogue and peaceful means” to settle the region’s crises, saying that the escalation has serious consequences that could push the Mideast into chaos. El-Sissi’s comments came in a phone call Sunday with Oman’s leader, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, according to the Egyptian leader’s office.

The death toll in clashes between Pakistani police and protesters who stormed the U.S. Consulate compound in Karachi has risen to nine.

The Shiite protesters were enraged by the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in U.S. and Israeli strikes. Police said the protest on Sunday was later dispersed.

Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain have all reported intercepting incoming attacks.

Qatar’s Defense Ministry says the country’s air force and air defense units intercepted missiles and drones fired from Iran, and that there were no casualties.

The Bahrain News Agency, citing the National Communication Center, said the country intercepted a wave of missiles and drones launched by Iran. It said “limited” debris landed in a number of areas, without providing further details.

Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said the military’s air defenses repelled “a number of hostile aerial targets” but did not mention any human or material losses.

Oman says an oil tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz came under attack, wounding four mariners on board.

The attack targeted a Palau-flagged vessel called Skylight, the state-run Oman News Agency said.

It described the crew as Indian and Iranian.

It wasn’t clear who attacked the vessel, but it came as authorities have said Iran has been threatening ships traveling the strait via radio since the United States and Israel launched its attack on Iran.

Oman, which had served as an interlocutor between Tehran and Washington in recent nuclear talks, also said its port at Duqm was targeted in a drone attack.

Oman has previously stayed out of the fray in years of tensions gripping the region.

An adviser to the United Arab Emirates’ president says Iran “missed its target” with its attacks on the Arab Gulf states following US-Israeli strikes in Tehran.

“Return to your senses, to your surroundings, and deal with your neighbors with reason and responsibility before the circle of isolation and escalation widens," Anwar Gargash, who was the former state minister for foreign affairs, wrote on X.

The United Arab Emirates was hit hard by Iranian missiles and drones, particularly Dubai, the Emirates’ commercial hub.

UAE sought in recent years to de-escalate tensions with Iran despite its longtime suspicions of its northern neighbor.

A nearly total internet blackout continued in Iran on Sunday morning, the second day of a conflict between Tehran and the U.S. and Israel, a monitoring group said.

NetBlocks said connectivity has flatlined at 1% of its ordinary levels.

Internet communication and international phone calls in Iran have frequently been disrupted since nationwide anti-government protests that started earlier this year.

Japan’s top government spokesperson said Sunday that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must not be allowed and that Japan has consistently supported dialogue between Washington and Tehran as an important step toward resolving issues.

“Iran must stop nuclear weapons development and other actions that destabilize the region,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said, while falling short of expressing clear support for the U.S. attack on Iran.

A massive explosion struck Iran’s capital Sunday as the Israeli military said it was targeting the “heart” of the city.

The blast sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. It wasn’t immediately clear what the target was. The blast appeared centered in a neighborhood home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television.

The Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran. It said that on the first day of the attacks, the military cleared the path to Tehran and on the second day it was striking central Tehran.

At least six people were killed in clashes with police Sunday after hundreds of protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, authorities said.

The violence came after the United States and Israel attacked Iran and killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said at least eight people were also wounded in the clashes.

Police in Karachi said the protesters were later dispersed and the situation was under control.

Tens of thousands of people in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Sunday staged massive demonstrations to denounce Khamenei’s killing by the U.S. and Israel.

Since early Sunday, mostly Shiite Muslims hit the streets across the region as they chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

Some wailed in mourning while carrying Khamenei’s portrait.

They also expressed solidarity with Palestinians and vowed to never forget them.

The Iranian leader enjoyed a significant following in Kashmir among Shiite Muslims, and his portrait adorned several streets prominently across the region.

Kashmiris have long supported Palestinian and other Muslim causes and have often staged large solidarity protests.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a prominent Kashmiri religious leader, voiced deep sorrow and outrage over what he termed the “brutal killing” of the Iranian leader. He said in a statement that the killing “has shaken the Muslim world” and called for a protest strike in Kashmir on Monday.

Dubai authorities said two people were injured when debris from Iranian drones shot down by air defenses landed in the courtyards of two homes in the city.

The Dubai Media Office also said the booms heard in the emirate were “the result of successful interception operations” by air defenses.

After explosions in Dubai, smoke could be seen rising in the area of Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, and the city-state’s Jebel Ali port.

About 500 Shiite Muslims stormed the U.S. Consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Sunday, smashing windows hours after a major U.S. and Israeli attack killed Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, police said.

Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, said Mohammad Jawad, a police official.

At least one protester was killed and several others were wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces, he said.

The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain said on Sunday that family members and nonessential personnel were authorized to leave Bahrain.

The U.S. has large military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom, and three buildings were damaged in the capital, Manama.

Iranian Australians celebrated Sunday as news emerged that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the U.S.

A group of about 200 people waving Australian, American, Israeli and old Iranian flags chanted and danced outside the Iranian Embassy in Canberra, Australia’s capital.

One of those celebrating, Nassim Rezakhani, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. she was excited by the news.

“Words cannot describe the feeling of the people of Iran. Like we said, the reason we are celebrating is because this is not a war on Iran. This is a war for the people of Iran,” she said.

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

Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Gen. 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 Sunday morning.

Iran did not elaborate on when the strike took place that killed the four men. The American-Israeli campaign began with intense airstrikes on Tehran on Saturday.

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Corrects spelling of Russian foreign minister’s first name to Sergey, not Sergei, per AP style.