According to media reports, several loud blasts have been heard in Dubai and over Qatar's capital Doha as Iran launched fresh strikes. The UAE and Qatar are US allies and Iran's offensive is to send a message to its neighbours that siding with its enemy will have consequences.
The US and Israel carried out coordinated airstrikes across Iran yesterday after stalled nuclear talks and claims that Iran had resumed its nuclear activities. The mission, named Operation Epic Fury, targeted several major Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader since 1989, was killed in the strikes. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has vowed to punish the "murderers" of their Supreme Leader and promised that the response will be the "most ferocious offensive operation in history" against the US and Israel. In a statement posted on Telegram, the IRGC said, "The hand of revenge of the Iranian nation for a severe, decisive and regrettable punishment for the murderers of the Imam of the Ummah will not let go of them.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities, warning of "grave consequences" for global security. The European Union and Russia, too, have sought de-escalation.
