Iran vows revenge for slain supreme leader despite Trump threat

Iranian top officials vowed Sunday to avenge their slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and declared a new wave of strikes on US bases in the Gulf, defying US President Donald Trump’s threat of an unprecedented escalation in force. As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s killing a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.” Ali Larijani, the powerful head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, declared: “The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors.” Meanwhile, blasts were heard in northern Tehran and smoke was seen emanating from a building, an AFP journalist reported.

It was not immediately clear what the target was. Earlier, cheers had been heard as some Iranians celebrated early reports of the death of their longtime leader, but — after state media confirmed his killing — pro-government demonstrations also formed, chanting “Death to America!”. As crowds demanded revenge — and Iran’s army announced strikes targeting US bases in the Gulf and Iraqi Kurdistan — Trump threatened to unleash “force that has never been seen before” and urged Iran’s people to rise up and seize power.

Iran’s first retaliatory strikes on Saturday had hit all the Gulf states apart from Oman, which had sought to mediate US-Iran talks. But on Sunday the country’s commercial port of Duqm was hit by two drones, injuring a foreign worker, the Oman News Agency said, with a tanker off the sultanate’s coast also hit. Outrage at Saturday’s wave of US and Israeli strikes against Iran, which killed 86-year-old Khamanei and some other senior figures, spilled over into neighbouring Iraq and Pakistan, where crowds attempted to storm US diplomatic missions. In the Pakistani megacity of Karachi, at least eight people were killed during pro-Iran protests at the US consulate, according to Muhammad Amin, a spokesman for the Edhi Foundation rescue service, who added that most had bullet wounds.