- PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Stars are gathering for the final night of the NAACP Image Awards, where “Sinners” is the leading film nominee. The Image Awards crown winners over multiple nights in a variety of categories including film, television, music, books and more. The ceremony is being held Saturday and is one of the final […]
- WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — With Saturday’s military operation against Iran, President Donald Trump demonstrated a dramatic evolution in risk tolerance, adjusting in just a matter of months how far he was willing to go in using American military might to confront Tehran’s clerical rule. Guardrails were tossed aside, as Trump and Israeli Prime […]
- WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, whose fierce denunciation of military adventurism abroad fueled his unlikely rise to the top of the Republican Party, risks becoming ensnared by that very type of conflict. The U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday cemented Trump’s decade-long transformation from a candidate who in 2016 called the Iraq War […]
- Feb 28 (Reuters) – OpenAI said on Saturday that the agreement it struck a day ago with the Pentagon to deploy technology on the U.S. defense department’s classified network includes additional safeguards to protect its use cases. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday directed the government to stop working with Anthropic, and the Pentagon said […]
- WASHINGTON (AP) — A high-stakes dispute over military use of artificial intelligence erupted into public view this week as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brusquely terminated Anthropic’s work with the Pentagon and other government agencies, using a law designed to counter foreign supply chain threats to slap a scarlet letter on a U.S. company. President Donald […]
- At least 6 killed as Shiites storm US Consulate in Pakistan over killing of Iran’s supreme leader
on March 1, 2026 at 9:18 amKARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — At least six people were killed and about a dozen were wounded in violent clashes with police and paramilitary forces Sunday after hundreds of protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, authorities said. The violence came hours after the United States and Israel attacked Iran and killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said at least eight people were also wounded in the clashes. Summaiya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon at the city’s main government hospital, confirmed that six bodies and multiple injured people were brought to the facility. Karachi is the capital of southern Sindh province and Pakistan’s largest city. Senior police official Irfan Baloch said protesters briefly attacked the perimeter of the U.S. Consulate but were later dispersed. “The situation is now fully under our control,” Baloch said. He dismissed as baseless reports that any part of the consulate building was set on fire. However, he said protesters torched a nearby police post and smashed windows of the consulate before security forces arrived and regained control. Witnesses said dozens of Shiite protesters remained gathered about a kilometer (half a mile) from the consulate, urging others to join them. Shiites make up roughly 15% of Pakistan’s population of about 250 million and represent one of the largest Shiite communities in the world. They have frequently staged anti-Israel and anti-U.S. rallies in the past, though clashes of this scale are rare. Shiites also held a rally near the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, police said. Faisal Kamran, a senior police official, said demonstrators tried to protest outside the consulate but were not allowed. Police dispersed the crowd when they tried to march toward the building, he said. ___ Associated Press writers Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, and Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, contributed to this story. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Middle East airports closed and thousands of travelers stranded after attack on Iran
on March 1, 2026 at 8:18 amLONDON (AP) — The attack on Iran by the United States and Israel disrupted flights across the Middle East and beyond Saturday as countries around the region closed their airspace and key airports that connect Europe, Africa and the West to Asia were directly hit by strikes. Airports across the Middle East remained closed Sunday as the conflict moved into its second day. Emirates Airlines suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Sunday afternoon. The Qatar airport was closed until at least Monday morning, according to Qatar Airways. Israeli airspace also remained closed Sunday. The closures have stranded tens of thousands of travelers around the world. Hundreds of thousands of travelers were either stranded or diverted to other airports Saturday after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace. There also was no flight activity over the United Arab Emirates, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said, after the government there announced a “temporary and partial closure” of its airspace. That led to the closure of key hub airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, and the cancellation of more than 1,800 flights by major Middle Eastern airlines. The three major airlines that operate at those airports — Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad — typically have about 90,000 passengers per day crossing through those hubs and even more travelers headed to destinations in the Middle East, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Two airports in the United Arab Emirates reported incidents as the government there condemned what it called a “blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles” on Saturday. Officials at Dubai International Airport — the largest in the United Arab Emirates and one of the busiest in the world — said four people were injured, while Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi said that one person was killed and seven others were injured in a drone strike. Strikes were also reported at Kuwait International Airport. Though Iran did not publicly claim responsibility, the scope of retaliatory strikes that Gulf nations attributed to Iran extended beyond the American bases that it previously said it would target. “For travelers, there’s no way to sugarcoat this,” said Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. “You should prepare for delays or cancellations for the next few days as these attacks evolve and hopefully end.” Airlines that are crossing the Middle East will have to reroute flights around the conflict with many flights headed south over Saudi Arabia. That will add hours to those flights and consume additional fuel, adding to the costs airlines will have to absorb. So ticket prices could quickly start to increase if the conflict lingers. The added flights will also put pressure on air traffic controllers in Saudi Arabia who might have to slow traffic to make sure they can handle it safely. And the countries that closed their airspace will miss out on the overflight fees airlines pay for crossing overhead. But Mike McCormick, who used to oversee air traffic control for the Federal Aviation Administration before he retired and is now a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said over the next few days these countries might be able to reopen parts of their airspace once American and Israeli officials share with the airlines where military flights are operating and how capable Iran remains at firing missiles. “Those countries then will be able to go through and say, okay, we can reopen this portion of our space but we’ll keep this portion of our airspace closed,” McCormick said. “So I think what we’ll see in the next 24 to 36 hours how the use of airspace evolves as the kinetic activity gets more well defined and as the capability of Iran to actually shoot missiles and create additional risk is diminished due to the attacks.” But it is unclear how long the disruption to flight operations could last. For comparison, the Israeli and U.S. attack on Iran in June 2025 lasted 12 days. The situation was changing quickly and airlines urged passengers to check their flight status online before heading to the airport. Some airlines issued waivers to affected travelers that will allow them to rebook their flight plans without paying extra fees or higher fares. Jonathan Escott and his fiance had arrived at the airport in Newcastle, England, on Saturday only to find out that his direct flight to Dubai on Emirates airline was canceled, leaving everyone on the flight stuck there. Escott left to go back to where he was staying with family, about an hour from the airport, but has no idea when he may be able to travel. “No one knows,” Escott said. “No one really knows what’s going on with the conflict, really. Not Emirates, Emirates don’t have a clue. No one has a clue.” At least 145 planes that were en route to cities like Tel Aviv and Dubai early Saturday were diverted to airports in cities like Athens, Istanbul or Rome, according to FlightAware. Others turned around and returned to where they took off from. One plane spent nearly 15 hours in the air after leaving Philadelphia and getting all the way to Spain before turning around and returning to where it started. Numerous airlines canceled international flights to Dubai through the weekend, as India’s civil aviation agency designated much of the Middle East — including skies above Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon — as a high-security risk zone at all altitudes. Air India canceled all flights to Mideast destinations. Turkish Airlines said flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan were suspended until Monday and flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman were suspended. The airline said additional cancellations may be announced, and many other airlines were suspending flights into the region through the weekend. U.S.-based Delta Air Lines and United Airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv at least through the weekend. Dutch airline KLM had already announced earlier in the week that it was suspending flights to and from Tel Aviv. Airlines including Lufthansa, Air France, Transavia and Pegasus canceled all flights to Lebanon, while American Airlines suspended flights from Philadelphia to Doha. Virgin Atlantic said it would avoid flying over Iraq, meaning flights to and from India, the Maldives and Riyadh could take slightly longer. The airline already was not flying over Iran and said all flights would carry appropriate fuel in case they need to reroute on short notice. British Airways said flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain will be suspended until next week, and flights to Amman, Jordan, were canceled Saturday. “Travelers should anticipate that there will be a lot of disruptions,” Harteveldt said. “To be honest, if you haven’t left home, chances are you won’t be leaving home if you’re supposed to travel to or through these destinations for at least several days, if not longer. And if you are returning home, you will have to be very creative about how you get home.” ___ Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writers Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, and Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Explosion rocks Iran’s capital as Israel says it is targeting the city after strikes killed Khamenei
on March 1, 2026 at 6:18 amDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An enormous explosion rocked Iran’s capital Sunday as the Israeli military said it was targeting the heart of the city. Earlier, Iran fired missiles at targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states after vowing massive retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by the United States and Israel. The blast in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. It wasn’t immediately clear what the target was. The blast appeared centered in a neighborhood that is home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television. The Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran. Khamenei’s death in a joint Israeli-American airstrike Saturday on his Tehran office has thrown the future of the Islamic Republic into question and raised the risk of regional instability. Iran’s Cabinet vowed that this “great crime will never go unanswered” and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever, targeting Israeli and American bases. “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address Sunday. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.” U.S. President Donald Trump warned that any retaliation would only lead to further escalation. “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT,” Trump fired back in a social media post. “IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!” As Israel and the U.S. targeted other top officials, an airstrike on a meeting of the country’s defense council killed Iran’s army chief of staff and defense minister, alongside the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser to Khamenei. Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed at the meeting, along with Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour took over as the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its past commander in the 12-day war last June. The adviser, Ali Shamkhani, had long been a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment. In a sign of how the attack could spread instability throughout the region, hundreds of Shiite Muslims stormed the U.S. Consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Sunday, smashing windows. Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, said Mohammad Jawad, a police official. At least six people were killed in clashes, authorities said. Shiite Islam is the predominant branch in Iran, though its followers are a minority in Pakistan. Oman said an oil tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz came under attack, wounding four mariners on board. The attack targeted a Palau-flagged vessel called Skylight, the state-run Oman News Agency said. It described the crew as Indian and Iranian. It wasn’t clear who attacked the vessel, but it came as authorities have said Iran has been threatening ships traveling the strait via radio since the United States and Israel launched its attack on Iran. Meanwhile, in Iraq, a militant group claimed responsibility for a drone attack “targeting American bases in Irbil,” according to the Rudaw media outlet. Smoke could be seen from an area where the U.S. has an air base there, but it was not immediately clear whether it had been hit. After the initial strikes, Iran immediately launched missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. The Israeli military said Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel, with many intercepted. The Magen David Adom rescue service said Saturday night that a woman in the Tel Aviv area died after being wounded in an Iranian missile attack. Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defense fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital, with explosions continuing into Sunday morning. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the UAE capital killed one person, state media said, and debris from aerial interceptions caused fires at the city’s main port and on the facade of the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel. Saudi Arabia said Iran targeted its capital and eastern region in an attack that was repelled and Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles. 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 attack on Iran opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention, and carried the potential for retaliatory violence and a wider war, representing a startling flex of military might for an American president who swept into office on an “America First” platform and vowed to keep out of “forever wars.” The killing of Khamenei in the second Trump administration assault on Iran in eight months appeared certain to create a leadership vacuum, given the absence of a known successor and because the supreme leader had final say on all major policies during his decades in power. He led Iran’s clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the governing theocracy. Iran quickly formed a council to govern the country until a new supreme leader is chosen. As reports trickled out about Khamenei’s death, eyewitnesses in Tehran told The Associated Press that some residents were rejoicing, cheering from rooftops, blowing whistles and letting out ululations. Mourners raised a black flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad and the Iranian government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death. Citing unidentified sources, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported that several relatives of Khamenei were also killed, including a daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and grandchild. The joint U.S.-Israel operation, which officials say was planned for months, started Saturday during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan and at the start of the Iranian workweek. It followed stilted negotiations and warnings from Trump. The U.S. military said targets in Iran included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense systems, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields. It reported no U.S. casualties and minimal damage at U.S. bases despite “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.” Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorization. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the administration had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance. Tensions have soared in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program while the country struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests. Though Trump had pronounced the Iranian nuclear program obliterated in strikes last year, the country was rebuilding infrastructure that it had lost, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss Trump’s decision-making process. The official said intelligence showed that Iran had developed the capability to produce its own high-quality centrifuges, an important step in developing the highly enriched uranium needed for weapons. Iran had said it hoped to avert a war, but it maintained its right to enrich uranium. Iran has said it has not enriched since June, but it has blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites the U.S. bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by AP have shown new activity at two of those sites, suggesting Iran is trying to assess and potentially recover material. Israel said the operation had been planned for months with the United States. Air Force pilots struck “hundreds of targets across Iran,” Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a statement. Targets in the Israeli campaign included Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information on the attack. In southern Iran, at least 115 people were reported killed when a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, the local governor told Iranian state TV. U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said he was “aware of reports” that a girls’ school was struck and that officials were looking into them. An Iranian diplomat told the United Nations Security Council that hundreds of civilians were killed and wounded in the strikes. Iran’s state news agency IRNA said at least 15 people were killed in the southwest, quoting the governor of the Lamerd region, Ali Alizadeh, as saying a sports hall, two residential areas and a hall near a school were hit. ___ Lidman reported from Tel Aviv. Boak reported from West Palm Beach, Florida. Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Aamer Madhani and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Farnoush Amiri in New York, David Rising in Bangkok and AP journalists around the world contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- The Latest: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei killed in US-Israeli attack
on March 1, 2026 at 5:18 amIranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump had announced his death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint U.S. and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” was to continue through the week or as long as necessary. The strikes opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran, marking the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the country during talks over its nuclear program. The killing of Khamenei after decades in power appeared certain to create a significant leadership vacuum given the absence of a known successor and because the supreme leader had final say on all major policies. On Sunday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its “most-intense offensive operation” ever targeting Israel and U.S. bases. Here is the latest: The Abu Dhabi Media Office said shrapnel from a drone that was intercepted by air defense units fell at a tower in Abu Dhabi, lightly wounding a woman and her child. The office said that the sounds heard Sunday in the capital of the United Arab Emirates were those of successful interceptions. Oman says an oil tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz came under attack, wounding four mariners on board. The attack targeted a Palau-flagged vessel called Skylight, the state-run Oman News Agency said. It described the crew as Indian and Iranian. It wasn’t clear who attacked the vessel, but it came as authorities have said Iran has been threatening ships traveling the strait via radio since the United States and Israel launched its attack on Iran. Oman, which had served as an interlocutor between Tehran and Washington in recent nuclear talks, also said its port at Duqm was targeted in a drone attack. Oman has previously stayed out of the fray in years of tensions gripping the region. An adviser to the United Arab Emirates’ president says Iran “missed its target” with its attacks on the Arab Gulf states following US-Israeli strikes in Tehran. “Your war is not with your neighbors, and through this escalation,” Anwar Gargash, who was former state minister for foreign affairs, wrote on X platform on Sunday. “Return to your senses, to your surroundings, and deal with your neighbors with reason and responsibility before the circle of isolation and escalation widens.” The United Arab Emirates was hit hard by Iranian missiles and drones, particularly Dubai, the Emirates’ commercial hub. UAE sought in recent years to deescalate tensions with Iran despite its longtime suspicions of its northern neighbor. A nearly total internet blackout continued in Iran on Sunday morning, the second day of a conflict between Tehran and the U.S. and Israel, a monitoring group said. NetBlocks said connectivity has flatlined at 1% of its ordinary levels. Internet communication and international phone calls in Iran have frequently been disrupted since nationwide anti-government protests that started earlier this year. Japan’s top government spokesperson said Sunday that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must not be allowed and that Japan has consistently supported dialogue between Washington and Tehran as an important step toward resolving issues. “Iran must stop nuclear weapons development and other actions that destabilize the region,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said, while falling short of expressing clear support for the U.S. attack on Iran. A massive explosion struck Iran’s capital Sunday as the Israeli military said it was targeting the “heart” of the city. The blast sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. It wasn’t immediately clear what the target was. The blast appeared centered in a neighborhood home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television. The Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran. It said that on the first day of the war the military cleared the path to Tehran and on the second day it was striking central Tehran. At least six people were killed in clashes with police Sunday after hundreds of protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, authorities said. The violence came after the United States and Israel attacked Iran and killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said at least eight people were also wounded in the clashes. Police in Karachi said the protesters were later dispersed and the situation was under control. Tens of thousands of people in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Sunday staged massive demonstrations to denounce Khamenei’s killing by the U.S. and Israel. Since early Sunday, mostly Shiite Muslims hit streets across the region as they chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” Some wailed in mourning while carrying Khamenei’s portrait. They also expressed solidarity with Palestinians and vowed to never forget them. The Iranian leader enjoyed a significant following in Kashmir among Shiite Muslims, and his portrait adorned several streets prominently across the region. Kashmiris have long supported Palestinian and other Muslim causes and have often staged large solidarity protests. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a prominent Kashmiri religious leader, voiced deep sorrow and outrage over what he termed the “brutal killing” of the Iranian leader. He said in a statement that the killing “has shaken the Muslim world” and called for a protest strike in Kashmir on Monday. Dubai authorities said two people were injured when debris from Iranian drones shot down by air defenses landed in the courtyards of two homes in the city. The Dubai Media Office also said the booms heard in the emirate were “the result of successful interception operations” by air defenses. After explosions in Dubai, smoke could be seen rising in the area of Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, and the city-state’s Jebel Ali port. About 500 Shiite Muslims stormed the U.S. Consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Sunday, smashing windows hours after a major U.S. and Israeli attack killed Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, police said. Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, said Mohammad Jawad, a police official. At least one protesters was killed and several others were wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces, he said. The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain said on Sunday that family members and non-essential personnel were authorized to leave Bahrain. The U.S. has large military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom, and three buildings were damaged in the capital, Manama. Iranian Australians celebrated Sunday as news emerged that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the U.S. A group of about 200 people waving Australian, American, Israeli and old Iranian flags chanted and danced outside the Iranian Embassy in Canberra, Australia’s capital. One of those celebrating, Nassim Rezakhani, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. she was excited by the news. “Words cannot describe the feeling of the people of Iran. Like we said, the reason we are celebrating is because this is not a war on Iran. This is a war for the people of Iran,” she said. The Israeli military said it has identified another round of missiles headed toward Israel from Iran. There were repeated barrages of missile fire across Israel, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, early Sunday. According to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services, one person has been killed and 121 were injured in the first 24 hours of the conflict. Some airports across the Middle East remained closed on Sunday as the conflict between Israel, the U.S., and Iran moved into its second day. Emirates Airlines has suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Sunday afternoon. The Qatar airport is closed until at least Monday morning, according to Qatar Airways. Israeli airspace also remains closed. The closures have stranded tens of thousands of travelers around the world. The commander of the U.S. Central Command says his forces are taking part in military operations in the region during the first 24 hours of “Operation Epic Fury.” “The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” a statement quoted the head of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, as saying. Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister were killed in an airstrike targeting a meeting of the country’s defense council, Iranian state television reported Sunday. Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed at the meeting alongside the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and security adviser Ali Shamkhani, whose deaths Iran previously announced Sunday morning. Iran did not elaborate on when the strike took place that killed the four men. The American-Israeli campaign began with intense airstrikes on Tehran on Saturday. Airport authorities in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali said more than 1,600 tourists were stranded at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Sunday after several flights to the Middle East were canceled or postponed due to airspace closures in a number of countries. Five flights to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha operated by Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways were affected, involving 1,631 passengers, according to state‑owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia. The airport said overall operations remained normal and passengers were being handled under airline policies while authorities coordinated with airlines and air navigation officials. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for “de-escalation and prioritizing diplomacy” to avert “comprehensive chaos” in the region. “There is no alternative to dialogue to address the current crises,” he said. Abdelatty’s comment came in a phone call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. The U.S. Embassy in Jordan urged Americans in the Kingdom to remain indoors as Iran continued its attacks across the Gulf Arab states and Israel. The embassy made the warning Sunday morning in a post on X, citing reports of “missiles, drones, or rockets are in Jordanian airspace.” Protesters have taken to the streets in the Iraqi capital early Sunday to denounce the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Associated Press journalists saw dozens of people attempting to cross a bridge leading to Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses Iraqi government buildings and the sprawling U.S. Embassy. Gunshots were heard and smoke was seen rising in the area, according to AP footage. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said eight people were wounded early Sunday in Iranian attacks on the country, raising the total number of those wounded since strikes began the day before to 16. The ministry said attacks also caused “limited” material damages. It urged people in Qatar to stay home and only go out in case of emergency and keep roads open for ambulances. Ebrahim Taheri, a Minab prosecutor, told the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan News Agency that the death toll from Saturday’s U.S and Israeli strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran’s Minab county has risen to 148 killed and 95 wounded. Trump warned Iran on Sunday not to escalate its attacks, writing online that American forces will strike back with exceptional force. Trump’s comments on Truth Social follow Iranian threats on Sunday morning after acknowledging the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” Trump wrote, adding: “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!” Iran’s parliament speaker on Sunday called the leaders of the United States and Israel “filthy criminals” who will face “devastating blows” for their ongoing attacks on the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the comment in a televised address. Qalibaf is the highest-ranking official to appear on camera since the attacks began Saturday. “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” he said. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.” Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- World leaders react cautiously to US and Israeli strikes and death of Iran leader Ali Khamenei
on March 1, 2026 at 5:18 amBRUSSELS (AP) — How long will it last? Will it grow? What will the conflict and the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mean to us, and to global security overall? Those questions echoed across the Middle East and the planet Saturday as world leaders reacted warily to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that Khamenei was dead, calling it “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.” Iranian state media said early Sunday the 86-year-old leader had died without elaborating on a cause. Israeli officials previously told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Khamenei was dead. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address, said there were “growing signs” that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday. The apparent demise of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would likely throw its future into uncertainty and exacerbate already growing concerns of a broader conflict. The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting. Perhaps cautious about upsetting already strained relations with Trump, many nations abstained from commenting directly or pointedly on the joint strikes but condemned Tehran’s retaliation. Similarly to Europeans, governments across the Middle East condemned Iran’s strikes on Arab neighbors while staying silent on the U.S. and Israeli military action. Other countries were more explicit: Australia and Canada expressed open support for the U.S. strikes, while Russia and China responded with direct criticism. The U.S. and Isreael launched a major attack against Iran on Saturday, and Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic theocracy that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East. In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the U.S. and Iran to resume talks and said they favored a negotiated settlement. They said their countries didn’t take part in the strikes on Iran but are in close contact with the U.S., Israel and partners in the region. The three countries have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution over Iran’s nuclear program. “We condemn Iranian attacks on countries in the region in the strongest terms. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes,” they said. “Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future,” they said. Later, at an emergency security meeting, Macron said France was “neither warned nor involved” in the strikes. He called for intensified efforts for a negotiated solution, saying “no one can think that the questions of Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic activity, regional destabilization will be settled by strikes alone.” The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate for peace and strive for stability.” That coalition of nations has historically condemned both Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing the region. Morocco, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates denounced Iranian strikes targeting U.S. military bases in the region including in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Emirates. Under former President Bashar Assad, Syria was among Iran’s closest regional allies and a staunch critic of Israel, yet a statement from its foreign ministry singularly condemned Iran, reflecting the new government’s efforts to rebuild ties with regional economic heavyweights and the United States. Saudi Arabia said it “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of sovereignty.” Oman, which has been mediating the talks between Iran and the U.S., said in a statement that the U.S. action “constitutes a violation of the rules of international law and the principle of settling disputes through peaceful means, rather than through hostility and the shedding of blood.” New Zealand refrained from full-throated support but acknowledged Saturday that the U.S. and Israeli attacks were keeping the Iranian regime from remaining an ongoing threat. “The legitimacy of a government rests on the support of its people,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a joint statement. “The Iranian regime has long since lost that support.” Countries in Europe and the Middle East used careful wording, avoiding perceptions that they either support unilateral American action or are directly condemning the United States. Others were more blunt. Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the strikes “a pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state.” The ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of “hiding behind” concerns about Iran’s nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change. Similarly, China’s government said it was “highly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and called for an immediate halt to the military action and a return to negotiations. “Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said. Despite recent tensions with the U.S., Canada too expressed its support for the military action. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. And the U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, at the request of Bahrain and France. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank said they were largely unfazed as war erupted Saturday, barely pausing as booms echoed across the sky from Israel’s Iron Dome intercepting missiles overhead. Unlike Israel, Palestinian cities have no warning sirens or bomb shelters, despite the risk of falling debris or errant missiles. As people sheltered less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in Jerusalem, streets in Ramallah swarmed with shoppers browsing meat counters, vegetable stalls and Ramadan sweets, some stopping to record the sounds of distant sirens and missile interceptions. But as Israel closed checkpoints to the movement of people and goods on Saturday, gas stations saw longer-than-usual lines as residents filled spare canisters in case of supply disruptions. The Palestinian Authority, in a statement, condemned the Iranian attacks on Arab nations, many which have historically helped underwrite its finances. It made no mention of the Israeli or U.S. strikes. Nervousness is perceptible across multiple countries. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he was concerned the failure of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran meant a “new, extensive war in the Middle East.” The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in harsher words. “These attacks are totally irresponsible and risk provoking further escalation as well as increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and the use of nuclear weapons,” said its executive director, Melissa Parke. EU leaders issued a joint statement Saturday calling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in hopes of “ensuring nuclear safety.” The Arab League, too, appealed to all international parties “to work towards de-escalation as soon as possible, to spare the region the scourge of instability and violence, and to return to dialogue.” ___ Ciobanu reported from Warsaw and Metz from Ramallah. Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Angela Charlton in Paris, Paolo Santalucia in Rome, Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Elise Morton and Krutika Pathi in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Fatma Khaled and Sam Magdy in Cairo, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Adam Schreck in Bangkok and Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
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