War on Iran: Skies heavy with fighter jets, casualties rise
Israel has launched a new wave of strikes on Iran after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with American service men now killed in the conflict.
Source: US Central Command
The skies above the Middle East are heavy with fighter jets and missiles as Iran and Israel trade strikes.
Israel says it aims to dominate the skies as the Islamic Republic grapples to rebuild its leadership following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The first wave of US and Israeli strikes on Saturday (AEDT) – and Iranian retaliation – sent shockwaves through sectors from shipping to air travel to oil.
Loud blasts were heard for a second day near Dubai and over Doha after Iran launched air attacks on neighbouring Gulf states.
Dubai International Airport was damaged, while airports in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait were also hit.
US Central Command said on Monday morning (AEDT) that three American service members had been killed and five seriously wounded.
“Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty. Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing,” it said.
The conflict has led to warnings of rising energy costs and disruption to business in the strategic waterway, a global trade hub.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a leadership council had temporarily assumed the duties of the Supreme Leader.
The Israeli military said its air force had killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel says nine people were killed by a missile strike in the town of Beit Shemesh. Photo: AAP
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Amid the widening turmoil, Israel’s ambulance service said nine people were killed by a missile strike in the town of Beit Shemesh.
The United Arab Emirates said Iranian attacks killed three people and Kuwait reported one dead.
Iranian state media is reporting the death toll from a strike on a girls’ school in the southern city of Minab has risen to 165.
The Israeli military said that over the past day its planes conducted strikes to open the “path to Tehran”, and the majority of aerial defence systems in western and central Iran had been dismantled.
Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said deploying ground forces to Iran was not being considered.
As the first wave of strikes on Iran began, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Iranians to seize a rare opportunity to topple their leaders.
Inside Iran, some grieved for Khamenei while others celebrated his death, exposing a deep fault line in a country stunned by the sudden demise of the man who ruled for decades.
Thousands of Iranians were killed during a crackdown authorised by Khamenei against anti-government protests in January.
Footage from Tehran showed mourners packed into a square, dressed in black and many of them weeping.
But videos posted on social media also showed joy and defiance elsewhere, with people cheering as a statue was toppled in the city of Dehloran in Ilam province.
There was celebration in the streets of Karaj city, near Tehran in Alborz province, and Izeh in Khuzestan province. Reuters has verified the locations of these videos.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a new supreme leader would be chosen in “one or two days” to signal stability and continuity.
At least 150 tankers including crude oil and liquefied natural gas vessels dropped anchor in open Gulf waters beyond the Strait of Hormuz.
Dozens more were stationary on the other side of the chokepoint, shipping data showed.
Australian response
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the strikes against Iran and US moves to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and continuing to destabilise the region.
“Ayatollah Khamenei was responsible for the regime’s ballistic missile and nuclear program, support for armed proxies and its brutal acts of violence and intimidation against its own people,” he said in Sydney on Sunday.
“His passing will not be mourned.”
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The federal opposition has welcomed the US strikes, with frontbencher Tim Wilson saying the Iranian leader’s death made the world a safer place.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong played down the likelihood of Australian troops becoming involved in the conflict, even if there was potential to change the Iranian leadership.
“Ultimately, Iran’s future must be determined by the people of Iran … you would not expect us to participate,” she said.
Wong confirmed Australian leaders were not told in advance about the strikes.
Iranians have reported internet and phone lines being disconnected after the attacks – common when military tensions rise.
James Younessi, an Iranian-Australian doctor who lives in Sydney, said he had heard stories of people celebrating the assault in Iran.
“People [are]in the street jubilating, singing, dancing, passing chocolates and lollies to one another,” he said.
Younessi said he was glad to see the demise of the Ayatollah but would have preferred he was tried for his crimes.
Calls for momentum
Defiant Iranian-Australians have taken to the streets to celebrate the killing of the Islamic regime’s leader, calling for sustained international pressure to ensure freedoms can be reclaimed.
Australia-based human rights advocate and lawyer Sara Rafiee called for continued international pressure to help dismantle the regime’s coercive practices, security infrastructure and command centres.
“Iranians are unequivocal in one thing: reform within the current system is not an option,” she said.
“After 47 years of repression, they want the regime gone in its entirety and the opportunity to determine their own future.
“They do not want half-measures. They fear a scenario in which pressure begins and then stops, allowing the same actors to rebrand, put on suits and ties, adopt the language of reform, and quietly rebuild from within.”
There were rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and outside the former Iranian embassy in Canberra, where members of the community sprayed champagne, cheered and danced.
Iranian Australians are celebrating the fall of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after US-Israeli air strikes. Photo: AAP
A jubilant Nadeo Ranjear welcomed the Ayatollah’s death as “the greatest, greatest news”.
“It is still the beginning of the end. We still haven’t got 100 per cent victory, but we are almost there,” he said outside the embassy on Sunday.
“Victory is around the corner … the Iranian people will overthrow this regime.”
There were also smaller, anti-war demonstrations, with groups such as the Jewish Council of Australia condemning Albanese’s endorsement of the US strikes.
“Australia should not be lending political support to illegal military aggression that places countless civilian lives at risk,” it said in a statement that also expressed solidarity with the Iranian people.
—with AAP
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