Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed following a major joint U.S.–Israeli attack on Iran.
Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency confirmed the 86-year-old’s death early Sunday, a development that throws the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raises fears of wider regional instability.
President Donald Trump said the killing gives Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. He described the campaign as “heavy and pinpoint bombing” targeting Iranian military and government sites, adding it will continue as long as necessary.
(Explosions In Tehran As Israel Says It Launched Preemptive Strike. Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
Iran retaliated with drones and missiles aimed at Israel, U.S. bases in the Gulf, and Dubai. Israel also launched what it called a massive strike on the “heart” of Tehran.
Airspace closures across the region — including in Israel, Iran and Qatar — have led to more than 1,800 flight cancellations, stranding travellers.
The United Nations and the European Union are urging restraint as tensions escalate
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will not participate in the ongoing conflict in Iran.
Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa (CPAC)
Carney’s comments come after the United States and Israel launched
State media in Iran reported nationwide strikes, with some of the first hitting areas around Khamenei’s offices. A massive blast also rocked Tehran on Sunday as Israel said it was targeting the city’s centre.
Carney described Iran as the “principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East” and stressed it must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
Canada has expressed support for the U.S. and Israeli action while maintaining it will not join the conflict directly.
