War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

AirArabia has temporarily suspended flights to and from the UAE, the airline said on X.

Qatar’s interior ministry said the civil defence was dealing with a “limited fire” in Doha’s Industrial Area which was caused by a shrapnel falling after intercepting a missile.

No injuries were reported, the ministry said on X.

The Dubai Media Office has said that at least two people have been injured by debris from intercepted drones.

“Authorities confirmed that debris from drones intercepted by air defences fell in the courtyards of two homes in Dubai, resulting in two injuries. The injured have received the necessary medical care,” the statement read.

“Authorities also clarified that the sounds heard across the emirate were the result of successful interception operations,” it added.

According to aviation analytics company Cirium, of around 4,218 flights scheduled to land in Middle Eastern countries yesterday, 966 (22.9 per cent) were cancelled, with the figure rising above 1,800 if also including outbound flights, Reuters reports.

For Sunday, 716 flights out of 4,329 scheduled to the Middle East have been cancelled, Cirium said.

Flight tracking website FlightAware, meanwhile, said more than 19,000 flights had been delayed globally, and more than 2,600 were cancelled as of 2:30am GMT.

Air raid sirens have been sounded, and explosions were heard over Jerusalem after the Israeli military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran towards Israel, AFP reports.

“Sirens were sounded in several areas across the country, following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,” the military said.

“At this time, the Israeli Air Force is operating to intercept and strike threats where necessary to remove the threat. “

Iraq has announced a three-day mourning period after the death of Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei, AFP reports.

Government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said in a statement that “with deep sorrow, we extend our condolences to the noble people of Iran and the entire Muslim world” after Khamenei was killed in “a blatant act of aggression”.

He said the government had announced three days of mourning.

The Embassy of Iran in Pakistan has condemned the “cowardly, hideous and barbaric terrorist act” on the part of the US and Israel targeting the leadership of Iran, following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The statement recalled the “bravery, resistance, steadfastness, and lifelong devotion of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, to the ideals of independence, dignity, and resistance,” the statement read.

The statement further added: “We reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the noble aspirations of the Islamic revolution and our firm commitment to its enduring principles and emphasise that we will stand by the eternal aspirations of this great martyr until our last breath and the last droplet of our blood”.

Protests have erupted near the US Consulate in Karachi on the Mai Kolachi Road.

Protests follow the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in coordinated US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran.

According to a statement by the Edhi Rescue service, law enforcement personnel resorted to teargas shelling and baton-charging to control the situation, resulting in “injuries to several” people.

Read more here.

According to Iranian TV, the country’s armed forces chief of staff, Abdolrahim Mousavi, was killed in strikes on Iran, Reuters reports.

Hundreds of Iraqis attempted to storm Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy is located, after the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, an AFP journalist reported.

“Their attempts had been thwarted so far, but they keep trying,” a security source told AFP.

AFP’s journalist said protesters, some holding flags of pro-Iran armed groups, threw stones at security forces, who responded with tear gas.

Local media reported protests in other provinces in southern Iraq.

Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, has warned against attempts to divide Iran following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli strikes, AFP reports.

“Groups seeking to divide Iran should know that we will not tolerate it,” said Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, in an interview broadcast on state TV, calling on Iranians to unite.

The IRGC says it is carrying out a sixth wave of attacks in retaliation for the US and Israeli bombardment of Iran, according to Iranian state media.

It said it has launched “extensive missile and drone” attacks on Israel and US military bases in the region. It said 27 US bases, as well as the Israeli Tel Nof airbase, the Israeli army’s command headquarters in Tel Aviv, and a large defence industrial complex in the same city, were attacked.

Etihad Airways has temporarily suspended all flights operating to and from Abu Dhabi due to regional airspace closures.

In a statement, the airline said, “regional airspace closures continue to impact Etihad’s operations, and all flights to and from Abu Dhabi are suspended until 2am UAE time (3am PKT) on Monday, March 2”.

AFP correspondents in Dubai have heard a second wave of explosions, as Iran carried out retaliatory attacks on the Gulf following US and Israeli strikes that killed the supreme leader.

Earlier blasts were heard in Dubai, Doha and the Bahraini capital Manama.

Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, has said the transition process following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin from today, AFP reports.

“An interim leadership council will soon be formed. The president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council will assume responsibility until the election of the next leader,” said Larijani, the head of Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, who was an adviser to Khamenei.

“This council will be established as soon as possible. We are working to form it as early as today,” he said in an interview broadcast by state TV.

Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended its flight operations due to the closure of the Qatari airspace.

“Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace.

“A further update will be provided on March 2 by 9am Doha time (11am PKT). Passengers are advised to monitor the latest flight information via http://qatarairways.com or the Qatar Airways mobile app,” the airline said in a statement.

Japanese shipping firms are halting operations around the Strait of Hormuz after US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran, according to Reuters.

Nippon Yusen instructed its vessels to halt transit in the area on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company said.

A spokesperson for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said, “We are refraining from navigating through the Strait of Hormuz, and our related vessels have been instructed to remain in safe waters,” adding that the safety of its crew, cargo and vessels is the “top priority”.

A Kawasaki Kisen spokesperson said that several of its ships currently in the Persian Gulf are on standby, adding that, unlike with other thoroughfares, there are no options for diverting the shipments.

“Until the situation stabilises, we will not attempt to send vessels through the strait, nor dispatch additional ships towards the area,” the spokesperson said.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has hit the MSP ship in the Indian Ocean, which was carrying ammunition for US vessels.

“In the fifth wave of Operation True Promise4 in the Indian Ocean, the MSP ship, which was carrying ammunition for American vessels, was hit by four drones at the Jebel Ali anchorage and was completely disabled with damage and explosions,” the Iranian Embassy in India said in a post on X.

It added that the IRGC has also hit the US naval base in the “Abdullah Mubarak area of ​​Kuwait, which was hit by 4 ballistic missiles and 12 drones”.

A large number of American forces were killed and injured,” the statement said.

Iran has prepared for “all scenarios”, including the way forward, after the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following US and Israeli strikes, its parliament’s speaker says, AFP reports.

“We have prepared ourselves for these moments and have considered all scenarios,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a video carried on state TV, adding US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have “crossed our red lines” and “will suffer the consequences”.

The United States will hit Iran “with a force that has never been seen before,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, should the Middle East nation retaliate for U.S. strikes.

“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever been hit before,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

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