What to know about the new US-Israeli attacks on Iran

This image from video provided by U.S. Central Command shows a missile being launched from from a U.S. Navy ship in support of Operation Epic Fury on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Central Command via AP)

By BRIAN MELLEY and ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press

The massive U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggered retaliatory strikes on multiple countries in the region and is reverberating around the world.

Related violence expanded Sunday to a growing number of places. An enormous Israeli strike targeted Tehran. Iran fired drones and missiles at Israel and U.S. military installations around the Gulf, and also at the global business hub of Dubai. At least nine people were killed in clashes after angry protesters stormed the U.S. consulate in Pakistan.

The joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting Saturday carried the potential for a wider war, and the fallout could hit the world economy.

In announcing Saturday’s attack, President Donald Trump urged Iranians to seize the moment and “take over.”

Iran formed a council to govern the country until a new supreme leader is chosen. An Iranian diplomat told an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council that hundreds of civilians were killed and wounded in the strikes.

The strikes came two days after the latest U.S.-Iran talks as Trump pressured Tehran for a deal to constrain its nuclear program. Iran’s theocracy has also struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests that began over the economy but turned into anti-government ones.

Supreme leader’s compound was one of the first targets

Israel said it had worked with the U.S. for months to plan the attacks. The U.S. military said targets in Iran included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields.

One of the first strikes hit near the offices of the 86-year-old Khamenei, who had ruled since 1989 and held ultimate power. Iranian state television and state-run IRNA news agency reported Khamenei’s death without details.

Israel said it also killed 40 top Iranian military officials, including the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the defense minister.

The U.S. and Israel also struck Iran last June during earlier nuclear talks, greatly weakening Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. The Trump administration has asserted that Iran had been rebuilding its nuclear program, which Tehran has insisted is for peaceful purposes.

Iran strikes back at Israel and U.S. bases

Iran launched missiles and drones targeting Israel and strikes targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address Sunday.

The U.S. military reported no U.S. casualties and minimal damage at U.S. bases despite “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.”

Israel’s military said Iran fired “dozens” of missiles at Israel, with many intercepted. Emergency responder Magen David Adom said a woman in the Tel Aviv area died after being wounded in an Iranian missile attack.

Air defense fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital, which has long drawn business and expatriates by billing itself as a safe haven in a volatile region. Shrapnel from Iranian attacks on the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi killed two people, state media said.

Attacks also extended into Oman — Iran’s longtime interlocutor with the West.

Saudi Arabia said Iran had targeted its capital and eastern region in an attack that was repelled. Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters, and three buildings were damaged in the capital, Manama, and Muharraq city.

Kuwait’s civil aviation authority said a drone targeted the main international airport, injuring several employees. Explosions could be heard in Qatar. Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles.

Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have vowed to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and on Israel, according to two senior Houthi officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement from leadership.

Trump tells Iranians it’s time to topple their government

In announcing the “major combat operations,” Trump indicated the U.S. was striking for reasons beyond Iran’s nuclear program. On Friday, he voiced frustration over lack of progress in negotiations to stop Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.

He listed grievances stretching back to the beginning of the Islamic Republic following a revolution in 1979 that turned Iran from one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East into a foe. Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for armed proxies in the region were other issues.

Trump on Saturday told Iranians to take cover but urged them to later rise up and topple the Islamic leadership.

“When we are finished, take over your government,” Trump said. “It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

US military has been building up in the region

Trump later said “heavy and pinpoint bombing” in Iran would continue through the week or longer.

The U.S. had assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region as it negotiated with Iran about a deal over its nuclear program.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in January to bolster the number of warships. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and four accompanying destroyers were later dispatched from the Caribbean to head to the Middle East and are now in the Mediterranean.

The fleet has added more than 10,000 U.S. troops to the region.

Fighting impacts other countries, disrupts air travel

The strikes elicited mixed global reactions, including angry protests, celebrations and calls by world leaders for a return to negotiations and peace.

At least nine people were killed in violent clashes with police and paramilitary forces Sunday after hundreds of Shiite protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, authorities said.

The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. A third of worldwide oil exports transported by sea passed through the strait in 2025.

The fighting disrupted air travel in the region, with global repercussions.

Hundreds of thousands of travelers were stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace. There was no flight activity over the United Arab Emirates, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said.