BREAKING: Donald Trump says Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei killed in airstrikes | BBC News

Tonight, Donald Trump says Iran's supreme leader is dead as fears grow for all-out war in the Middle East. US and Israeli airstrikes have targeted operations in Iran and it's called epic fury. The president tells the Iranian people now is the time to overthrow the regime. When we are finished take over

your government it will be yours to take.

Iran has retaliated hitting many countries in the Gulf including their residential buildings. This was the scene in Dubai. Tonight as a large hotel was struck there are concerns for people living in and visiting the whole area. And this is the scene, live right now in Tel Aviv, which has continued to be hit by Iranian missiles tonight. We're here to tell you all we know about the situation and what it might mean after a momentous day for the Middle East and the world.

Hello to you from Tel Aviv, a region on edge tonight over fears of a wider Middle East war. In the last hour, Donald Trump says Iran's supreme leader is dead. If confirmed, it is a seismic moment for this whole area. So far, Iran has rejected the claims that he has been killed on what is a dramatic day with Israel and America launching a wave of airstrikes on targets right across Iran.

Several sites were hit in what Donald Trump has described as a successful mission. The Iranians have, however, hit back themselves with force right across the region. Plumes of smoke were seen in an area of Bahrain near the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. An airbase in Doha was also hit where there is a significant US military presence. And this missile was captured on camera over Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Thousands including tourists have been

caught up in the strikes. We will have full coverage and assess what the implications could be for the Middle East. But first, Jeremy Bowen, our international editor, has the very latest on what has been going on today.

This was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the tomb of his predecessor at the end of January. If Israel has killed him, as Donald Trump says, the Islamic regime in Iran will have taken a huge blow. One analyst called him the super glue keeping the system together. Israel and the US will hope that if he is dead, the regime will come unstuck. Benjamin Netanyahu said he was killed in a powerful strike on his compound in Tehran.

For three and a half decades this tyrant dispatched terrorism across the world, made his own people miserable and worked constantly and tirelessly on a programme to annihilate the state of Israel. That plan is there no longer, and there are many signs that this tyrant is also no longer.

Satellite images show the destruction of the compound used by the Supreme Leader in Tehran. The Iranians say he was not there when it was attacked and told ABC News in America that he was safe and sound. The Americans believe that this time their raw power can impose regime change on an enemy without creating a disaster.

The removal of Iraq's Saddam Hussein in 2003 led to a catastrophe, long years of war that incubated jihadist, extremist movements that still exist. The Americans released video of their targets. With Israel, they believe the economic and political weakness of the Islamic regime in Iran gives them an opportunity to strike that they have to take. Israel and the US went back to war with Iran just after breakfast time in Tehran,

hitting the capital and sites across the country. It's hard to get information about what's happening there. Video of an attack on a school in southern Iran is circulating. Iranian state TV was reporting 85 killed. This is a dangerous moment with unpredictable consequences in the world's most turbulent region.

Israel said the whole operation is a preemptive attack.

Ah!

Ha, ha, ha!

Without producing evidence of an imminent threat.

Oh!

Oh!

Sirens sounded immediately in Israel. War is political, and this is a war of choice, aimed at changing the regime in Iran. Iran tried to deliver on its threat of a devastating response, aimed at the extensive network of US bases in the Gulf.

This was Qatar, as well as Israel.

Go, go, go!

Get in, get inside.

In Dubai, tourists looking for winter sun had a nasty reminder of the region's realities. Close by in Bahrain, this appears to be a strike aimed at the big US naval base. Iran says it will use more powerful missiles than the ones it fired in last summer's war.

An interceptor rocket went up. Iran will hope that as the days pass, the US and Israel will start running out of defensive missiles. In Tehran, regime supporters rallied around the flag. It would take more than killing the supreme leader to destroy the regime.

It has a complex political system underpinned by ideology, corruption and the ruthless use of force against dissent. In January, big protests against the regime and the economic crisis were crushed with live bullets that killed thousands of people. Donald Trump promised to protect them and seems to believe that the regime will fall if they try again after

America and Israel's onslaught. At dusk the Fairmont Hotel on Dubai's Palm was hit. It isn't clear if it was targeted or if this was caused by missile debris from an interception the fire took hold. And this was Bahrain. More devastation, Iran has a big arsenal

of accurate short-range missiles. Iran's leaders will now be calculating how to ride out the war, how to survive and how to manage its consequences. Jeremy Bowen, BBC News.

Well tonight the United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss today's extraordinary events and these are live pictures from the session in New York. The Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, warned that today's military action risks triggering uncontrollable consequences for the Middle East.

Well, this evening Donald Trump said he believes a large number of Iran's leaders have also been killed. The president said the operation has been a success. Let's go live to Sarah Smith, who is at the White House for us tonight. Sarah, the president seems happy with today's events. He has dealt a blow to the Iranian regime, taken out some of the leadership and he says taken out the supreme leader too.

He announced that on his Truth Social social media site. When he said that Ayatollah Khomeini had been killed he described him as one of the most evil people in history and then went on to say this is now the single greatest chance for Iranians to take back their country. He's also been talking on the phone to a number of American journalists describing the operation so far as a tremendous success and saying he believes that quite a large proportion

of the Iranian leadership have now been killed. The White House has released photos of President Trump monitoring operations in a specially constructed facility in Mar-a-Lago. Alongside him are the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Vice President J.D. Vance is seen in the White House Situation Room in Washington.

A short time ago...

Donald Trump posted a video on social media at 2.30 in the morning to inform the American people he had launched a massive attack on Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by

eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. It's menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world.

Just hours earlier, he was campaigning in Texas in a hamburger joint, giving no hint of the planned assault.

I'm going to get some stuff for Air Force One and I'm going to get the hell out of here, all right?

I took you! Hamburgers for the whole place, OK?

Not much later, he was describing how he plans to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon.

We are going to destroy their missiles and raise their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated.

Last year, President Trump addressed thousands of American troops stationed in the Middle East, telling them his priority is to end conflicts, not start them. Now he's warning of casualties and fatalities.

The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we're doing this not for now. We're doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.

When the US launched B-2 bombers to attack Iran last year, the action was limited to nuclear sites. Now, he says, the Iranian people have the chance to overthrow the ruling regime.

Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.

Donald Trump has railed against previous American attempts at regime change in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is not planning to invade Iran. He hopes he can overthrow its leadership without putting American boots on the ground. Sarah Smith, BBC News, Washington.

Well, in the Iranian capital, Tehran, there's been loud cheers to celebrate the reported death of the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been the figurehead of the Islamic Republic for more than three decades. Seven missiles hit the presidential palace and there have been strikes around his compound. Barana Bassi from the BBC's Persian service reports now on a warning it contains distressing images.

Cheers ringing out from residential buildings in Tehran after Israeli media reported the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Claims Tehran has dismissed as psychological warfare, news that, if confirmed, would be welcomed by many Iranians who suffered under his rule for nearly four decades.

This is how the day began. Panic on the streets of Tehran, around 9.40am, a walking day in Iran, when loud explosions were heard across the country.

War has started near our office down in Palestine street. All the buildings were shaking. The streets are full of terrified people.

At the same time, a sense of relief for some. And at this school, teenagers celebrate. In early January, shocking pictures were shared with the world of thousands of people killed when government forces opened fire on protesters calling for regime change. The brutality left many believing only military intervention could topple the regime. But public sentiment could shift sharply if civilians are killed in the attacks. Many Iranians reacted with anger after state media reported that an Israeli strike on a

girls' school killed dozens.

The first victims of this war are girls in Minab, hit by a missile attack. Is this the war you cheer for?

A mixture of emotions. For some, a fear that more violence is yet to come. For others, a sense that the regime's hold could finally be challenged. In a country scarred by months of protests and deadly crackdowns, uncertainty reigns. As the smoke clears, Iranians are left to face the consequences and to hope for a future beyond fear. Baran Abbasi, BBC News.

Meanwhile, Saqir Stamat says the UK wasn't involved in the strikes earlier today, but said British planes and forces were actively supporting their allies as part of the UK wasn't involved in the strikes earlier today, but said British planes and forces were actively supporting their allies as part of the UK's commitment to the security of the Middle East. Our forces are active and British planes are in the sky today as part of coordinated regional defensive operations to protect our

people, our interests and our allies.

This evening, Sakhir has been speaking to Donald Trump. Chris Mason is live in Downing Street for us. Do we have a readout, Chris, on what was said between the two leaders?

It was a pretty brief call, I hear, Clive. And certainly as far as folk here in Downing Street are concerned, they're remaining pretty tight-lipped about the specifics of what was discussed. Look, bluntly here, the UK alongside France and Germany are in a different place to the US and Israel.

They have neither endorsed their actions nor were they involved in any way. The Prime Minister emphasising, as you heard there, that yes, British planes have been in the sky in the region in a defensive capability and he emphasises within international law, so protecting allies. And yes, the Prime Minister has condemned in strong terms Iran generally and the retaliatory action from Iran today. As far as the political reaction domestically is

concerned, broadly splits on right-left lines. The Conservatives and Reform UK suggesting the UK should be much more supportive of America. The likes of the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats are very sceptical of this action. One final word tonight about the practicalities, Clive, for Britons in the region. The Foreign Office setting up what it calls its Register Your Presence system for British nationals in the region, so the government here knows

where Britons are and can keep in touch with them.

Chris, thank you for that. Chris Mason, our political editor there in Downing Street. Well, the strikes on Iran follow months of tension in the region since the start of the year the US has been building up its military presence in the Middle East, the largest deployment since the Iraq War of 2003. Thousands have been caught up in the violence, including tourists across the Gulf, as Frank Gardiner reports.

War has touched Dubai. Scenes like this one, a luxury hotel in the Palm hit by an Iranian missile, have shocked residents and tourists alike in the normally tranquil Emirates.

It's been really, really shocking and it's kind of built up over the day and unfortunately debris has landed on the Palm, which is about a mile away from where I live. And I actually could see from my balcony the black plume of smoke rise.

Iran is lashing out at many of the Gulf Arab states that host U.S. bases. This is in the UAE. And this is Bahrain, residential buildings hit by low-flying explosive drones. So far, casualties have been minimal, but Gulf states will not forgive Tehran for this. Offshore, President Trump's armada sits poised for an extended campaign, two carrier strike groups and over 200 warplanes, enough to sustain hundreds of air and missile strikes on targets

in Iran for days, maybe weeks. On paper, this is a very uneven fight, the U.S. and Israel, against a weakened and unpopular regime in Iran. But that regime has been surprisingly resilient, despite having almost no air force to speak of, and it's been hitting back with whatever weapons it still has. It's been firing missiles like these at Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors, with some getting

through. The race is on for the U.S. to hit those Iranian launchers before more missiles fly. Iran has announced it's closing the Strait of Hormuz, potentially choking off a key shipping route for global oil and gas exports. And this AI propaganda video, made by the Revolutionary Guards, imagines a mass drone and missile attack crippling a US aircraft carrier. That is still an aim, and it's still a nightmare for the Pentagon.

Frank Gardner, BBC News.

Well, successive US presidents, while they have desired regime change in Iran, they have feared a long protracted drawn out confrontation and so they've shied away. Donald Trump tonight believes overwhelming air power with America's ally here in Israel can win the day and topple an obdurate leadership that has long regarded the US as the great Satan but spare a thought for the many millions of ordinary, courageous Iranians caught in the middle, brutalised by a repressive ruling class and military apparatus. They do have

the courage but will they be able to rise up and ultimately decide their own future? That's it from me and the team here in Tel Aviv on a day that will live long in the memory of many. of many. From us here, have a peaceful night.