Israel targeted the remnants of Iran’s military leadership in aerial bombardments on Tehran early Sunday, as the Islamic republic continued retaliatory airstrikes on Persian Gulf nations following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
Israeli officials said Sunday that they would carry out “non-stop strikes” against Iran’s leadership in Tehran. Explosions rocked several buildings across Iran’s capital, including those housing Iranian Defense Ministry personnel and the country’s national police headquarters.
Casualties from Sunday’s strikes were not confirmed. Human Rights Activists in Iran, a Washington-based activist organization, said at least 133 civilians had been killed in initial strikes and another 200 injured by Israeli and U.S. strikes on Saturday.
Israeli and U.S. strikes on Saturday killed several of Iran’s top military and political leaders, including Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; Defense Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh; and chief security adviser Ali Shamkhani.
Meanwhile, Iran launched wide-scale attacks against Israel and Arab Gulf nations in apparent retaliation for the death of Ayatollah Khamenei.
Loud explosions were heard Sunday across Tel Aviv as Israeli interceptors attempted to defend against a barrage of Iranian missiles. The attacks forced thousands into underground shelters, and at least one person was killed by an Iranian ballistic missile.
Israeli authorities said that at least six people had been killed near an impact site about 18 miles from Jerusalem on Sunday, the worst casualty event for Israel so far in its war with Iran.
Ali Larijani, now Iran’s top defense official, said Sunday that the death of Ayatollah Khamenei would not deter the Islamic republic and that Israel and U.S. forces in the region would face a “force they have never experienced before.”
Iran has convened an interim leadership council to oversee its retaliation. Council members include President Masoud Pezeshkian, Guardian Council member Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and Gholam Hossein Mohseni Eje’i, leader of the Iranian judiciary .
Mr. Pezeshkian said Sunday that the leadership council is considering a successor to Ayatollah Khamenei and is actively coordinating Iran’s defense.
“The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran are acting decisively to crush the foundations of the enemies,” the Iranian president said in a video address.
In addition to Israel, Iran again targeted Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates with missiles on Sunday. Kuwait said Sunday that Iran had launched 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones, killing one and injuring more than 30.
Three people were killed and 58 were injured Sunday in the UAE, the country’s Defense Ministry said. UAE air defenses intercepted 165 ballistic missiles and most of the 541 drones fired by Iran, though 21 struck civilians.
Sunday’s attacks follow a joint military operation by the U.S. and Israel on Saturday after negotiations with Iranian diplomats over Tehran’s nuclear program collapsed.
President Trump, who announced the attacks in a video address early Saturday, said the objective of the operation would be to eliminate Iran’s missile industry, navy and nuclear program.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Mr. Trump said in a video address posted on social media. “A vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.”
The attacks effectively end weeks of diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran, which sought to reach a peaceful resolution to Iran’s uranium enrichment program. The two sides held three rounds of negotiations last month, which the foreign ministries of Iran and Oman, who mediated the talks, had described as productive.
However, Iran was seemingly unwilling to eliminate its enrichment program, a key demand for U.S. negotiators who see it as an existential threat to regional stability.
Before and during negotiations, the U.S. began moving an immense amount of military hardware into the Middle East in apparent preparation for an attack. The arsenal included two aircraft carriers, warships, dozens of refueling tankers and fighter jets, along with air defense batteries.
• Ben Wolfgang contributed to this report.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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