Iran Supreme Leader Killed in US-Israel Attack as War Widens

Iran’s supreme leader was killed in US–Israeli airstrikes, a seismic development in a conflict that’s spread to half a dozen countries across the Middle East and threatens to disrupt energy flows.Author of the article:You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.(Bloomberg) — Iran’s supreme leader was killed in US–Israeli airstrikes, a seismic development in a conflict that’s spread to half a dozen countries across the Middle East and threatens to disrupt energy flows.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.President Donald Trump said in a social post that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “one of the most evil people in history, is dead.” Iran confirmed the news hours later, saying the government will observe 40 days of national mourning for the 86-year-old ruler, who was killed in his office compound.“Heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary,” Trump said. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.On Sunday morning, there were abundant signs the war is spreading a day after the US and Israel started attacks on the Islamic Republic. Buildings were struck in Tel Aviv, missile defenses intercepted incoming Iranian projectiles in Qatar and Bahrain, and there were reports of attacks on Dubai’s main airport, the world’s busiest aviation hub. The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf to the open sea, was described by Iran’s Tasnim news agency as being practically shut, with oil and gas tankers increasingly avoiding the waterway. “No American ship is allowed to enter the Persian Gulf,” Mohsen Rezaei, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council that advises Iran’s supreme leader, told state TV on Sunday.Killing the ruler who dominated the Islamic Republic for more than three decades took the US-Israeli campaign to quash Iran’s regional influence to a new level. Tehran retaliated with its heaviest ever missile strikes on US allies.Khamenei’s death raises the question of who will rule Iran next, as he had not publicly designated a successor. The Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting the supreme leader, is required to appoint a new one. In the interim, a council comprising the president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council assumes the leader’s duties.The council will meet later Sunday, Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Iranians to try to overthrow their government, following a similar call made by Trump shortly after the attacks on Iran began.The military campaign could be a defining moment for the US president, risking a drawn-out regional war that leads to a surge in energy prices and American casualties ahead of midterm elections in November. Iran has retaliated by firing missiles on Israel, US military bases and Persian Gulf countries, forcing a closure of nearly all civilian air traffic across the region. Larijani said Iranian strikes will be even stronger on Sunday.The US and Israel started the assault on Saturday with the aim of “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in a video posted on his Truth Social platform. “When we’re finished, take over your government,” he said, addressing Iranians directly. “It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain — all of which host US troops — reported Iranian attacks, most of which they seemed to repel. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted Iranian missiles over its capital, Riyadh, and the eastern region, where most of the kingdom’s oil fields are located.Israel’s military said its fighter jets targeted “approximately 500 objectives,” including aerial defenses and missile launchers, severely degrading Iran’s offensive capability. A total of 1,200 missiles were dropped on Iran over a 24-hour period, Israel’s army said, compared with 330 munitions used in the opening day of the 12-day war last year.US forces successfully defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drones, Central Command said in a statement, adding there were no reports of US casualties or combat-related injuries.Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defenses, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields in a campaign that included the first combat use of “low-cost one-way attack drones,” according to Centcom. Israel said the force’s commander, Mohammad Pakpour, was killed.Iranian media reported strikes on defensive and civilian sites, including one that killed 85 people at a school in Hormozgan. Several large explosions were reported in Tehran, the capital. Iranian television reported on Saturday that 201 people were killed and 747 injured in the strikes.Iran’s response outweighed its retaliation to Israeli airstrikes in June — both in scale and speed — as Tehran treats the conflict as an existential threat to the government born out of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.Risks to global energy markets came into focus as some vessels avoid the Strait of Hormuz. Oil has already gained almost 20% this year, largely due to US-Iran tensions. Brent crude increased 2.5% to $72.48 per barrel on Friday, the highest closing price since July. Oil markets are closed for the weekend.OPEC+ will consider the option of a larger oil supply increase when key members meet later Sunday, after the Israeli strikes, according to a delegate. The group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia was expected to resume modest production increases from April after a three-month supply freeze, several delegates said earlier this week.The prospect of a weeks-long regional war is a nightmare scenario for US allies in the Gulf such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They pushed hard for Iran and the US to agree a diplomatic solution to their impasse over Tehran’s nuclear activities, fearing the chaos and flight shutdowns now unfolding could hit their economies and deter tourists as well as foreign investment.Trump said the military operation began after Iran refused to renounce nuclear weapons, which Tehran has repeatedly said it isn’t pursuing.Shortly before Trump announced Khamenei’s death, a senior administration official told reporters that Iran refused to move on several sticking points, including moves to curtail regional proxy militant groups. Trump saw that as a key issue in any deal that could be reached, the official said.The attacks came two days after delegations from Iran and the US met in Switzerland for a third round of negotiations on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities. While Iran sounded upbeat about the trajectory of the talks, Trump responded by saying that he wasn’t happy with how they were unfolding. —With assistance from Dana Khraiche, Leen Al-Rashdan and Alisa Odenheimer.(Updates with Iran’s interim governing council in seventh paragraph, and outlook for Iranian retaliation in tenth.)Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.