Israeli officials say Iran's supreme leader has been killed, as Iran strikes back after Israeli-US attacks

SBS News' Chief International Correspondent Ben Lewis is in Israel. He sent us this dispatch from a Tel Aviv shelter:

It’s the end of shabbat and in a carpark a few stories below the Tel Aviv Hilton, men and children are dancing and singing, the traditional Hebrew songs punctuated by the soft thud of air defences operating high above the city.

Over the past few years, Israelis have become accustomed to spending time underground. When Hamas fired rockets after October 7, many did not take the threat that seriously. Iranian ballistic missiles are another matter entirely.

"I would not say I’m scared because we have each other, our resilience," says Jonathan, whose friends have already put together a makeshift bed to sleep on.

"Unfortunately, we’re used to this situation".

While there’s been significant international criticism of the Israeli government’s description of this war as a 'pre-emptive attack', not surprisingly, no-one in this bunker has a problem with it.

James Farkas is an Australian who’s lived in Israel for almost two decades.

"I think it’s come too late," he tells me after the all-clear has been given. 

"We’ve been talking about it happening for some time, everyone’s been a bit uncertain. It’s finally here now and I’m pleased that it is."

"It’s worth it if we have neutralised a potential threat that could make much bigger difficulties for us in future than these little ones." 

A recent poll from the Israel Democracy Institute research centre found 44 per cent of Israelis thought the IDF should join strikes against Iran from the outset, 50 per cent thought their country should only get involved if attacked first.

But now that it has happened, the national mood appears to have changed.

— Ben Lewis, in Tel Aviv

Explosions rocked cities across the Gulf Saturday, killing a civilian in Abu Dhabi, while smoke and flames rose from Dubai landmark The Palm as Iran launched waves of attacks in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes.

Iran called the strikes unprovoked and illegal and responded with missiles fired at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host US bases.

The attacks hit Kuwait's airport, as well as Gulf military bases and residential areas, raising fears of a wider conflict and rattling a region long seen as a haven of peace and security in the region.

Four people were injured at the luxury Palm development, and missiles streaked across the skies of every Gulf country but Oman, a mediator in the recent US-Iran talks.

The unprecedented barrage also targeted Qatar, host of the region's biggest US military base, as well as Riyadh and eastern Saudi Arabia.

The UAE, Qatar and Kuwait all announced that their airspace was closed.

READ MORE

US, Israel launch coordinated attacks on Iran

Many of the missiles and drones were intercepted, but smoke poured from US bases in Abu Dhabi and Manama, home of the American navy's Fifth Fleet, witnesses saw.

Dozens of loud, window-rattling bangs echoed over Gulf cities throughout the day, the second Saturday of the holy month of Ramadan.

A drone struck Kuwait's international airport and a base housing US personnel was targeted. Three Kuwaiti soldiers and 12 other people were wounded, authorities said.

Falling debris killed a Pakistani civilian in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates' capital, authorities said.

Missiles launched from Iran are spotted in the skies over Hebron as Iran's missile attacks in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes continue. Source: Getty / Anadolu/Anadolu via Getty Images

Residential buildings were also targeted in Bahrain's capital Manama, with officials saying firefighters and civil defence teams had been dispatched to the scene.

"The sound of the first explosion terrified me," said a 50-year-old retiree living near the US base in Manama's Juffair area, where residents were quickly evacuated.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia both warned they reserved the right to respond to the attacks.

The oil-and-gas rich Arab monarchies, lying just across the Gulf from Iran, are long-term American allies and host a clutch of US military bases.

However, they also maintain ties with Tehran — once their arch-foe. The UAE and Saudi Arabia were attacked despite pledging not to let US forces use their territory for operations against Iran.

Israel's military said some 200 fighter jets had completed the largest flying mission in its history, hitting 500 targets throughout Iran including strategic defence systems already damaged in strikes last year.

— Agence France-Presse

Israeli officials are reporting Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has been killed. This has not been confirmed by Iran.

The head of public relations at the Iranian Supreme Leader's office on Saturday accused the country's enemies of "mental warfare" after Israeli reports Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed, Iranian state media reported.

"The enemy is resorting to mental warfare, all should be aware," the public relations official was quoted as saying.

Reuters reported that an Iranian official told state media Khamenei was "commanding the field".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that there were many signs suggesting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have been killed in Israeli-US strikes in Iran.

"This morning we destroyed the compound of the tyrant Khamenei," Netanyahu said in a video statement, adding that for more than 30 years Khamenei had "dispatched terrorism across the world, made his own people miserable, and worked constantly and tirelessly on a program to annihilate the state of Israel".

"There are many signs that this tyrant is no longer. This morning we eliminated senior officials in the ayatollahs' regime, Revolutionary Guards commanders, senior figures in the nuclear programme - and we will continue."

In the same speech, Netanyahu warned Israel would hit "thousands more targets of the terror regime," Netanyahu said.

— Madeleine Wedesweiler

As Australians rise this morning there have been significant developments overnight in an escalating conflict between Iran and Israeli and US forces. Israeli officials say Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has been killed. Iran has returned airstrikes, after Israel and US forces hit Iran with a major attack, that had been foreshadowed for some time by US President Donald Trump as he urged Iran to commit to not develop nuclear weapons.

Here are the top lines:

- Israeli officials say Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has been killed and his body found. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier said Khamenei's compound had been destroyed, and Revolutionary Guard commanders and senior nuclear officials had been destroyed.

- Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Saturday, targeting its top leaders and calling for the overthrow of its government, while Iran responded with missiles fired at Israel and neighbouring Gulf countries, including Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE.

- Trump said the strikes were aimed at ending a security threat and ensuring Iran could not develop a nuclear weapon. He called on Iranian security forces to lay down their weapons and invited Iranians to topple their government once the bombing ended.

- Iranian media reports, citing the Red Crescent, say at least 201 people have been killed across 24 provinces.

We'll be bringing you updates throughout the day.

- Madeleine Wedesweiler