A powerful explosion rocked the Iranian capital on Sunday, as the Israeli military said it had struck the heart of the city. Earlier, Iran launched missiles at an ever-expanding list of targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by the United States and Israel.
The explosion in Tehran, whose target was not immediately clear, sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. It appeared to be centered in the neighborhood that houses the country's police headquarters and Iranian state television, as well as Tehran's Revolutionary Court and a Defense Ministry building.
Saturday’s joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran opened a startling new chapter in American intervention, raising the risk of retaliatory violence and wider war. They constitute a strong display of military might from a US president who came to power on an “America First” platform and promised to avoid engaging in “endless wars.” It is the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has used military force against the Islamic Republic.
During a 12-day war in June, Israeli and American strikes significantly weakened Iran's air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. But the assassination of Khamenei and US President Donald Trump's call for the Iranian people to overthrow his government have sharply increased tensions, creating a leadership vacuum in the Islamic Republic and increasing the risk of regional instability.
Iran's cabinet vowed that this "great crime will not go unanswered," while the Revolutionary Guards warned that they would strike Israeli and American bases.
“You have crossed our red line and you must pay the price,” said the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, in a speech broadcast on Sunday. “We will hit you so hard that you will be forced to beg for mercy yourself.”
also
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Assassinated
Trump warned that any retaliation would only lead to further escalation.
"They better not do this," Trump tweeted. "If they do, we will hit them with a force like never before seen!"
In a sign that the attack could spread instability across the region, hundreds of people stormed the U.S. Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Sunday. Police and paramilitary forces used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd, and at least six people were killed in the clashes, according to authorities.
