Drones and missiles streaked across the Middle East for a second day on Sunday as Iran pledged a crushing response to the killing of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A three-man council took charge in Tehran as Israel resumed bombing the capital, gathered reservists and warned attacks will “escalate further” in the coming days. The US said nine Iranian warships were sunk.
Iran responded with drone and rocket fire across the region, even as US President Donald Trump claimed the interim leadership taking over from Mr Khamenei had “agreed to talk”.
The UAE said three people have died after air defences reported two incoming cruise missiles, 165 ballistic missiles and 541 drones in two days.
Al Salam naval base in Abu Dhabi was hit by two drones, causing a fire. Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, said the UAE would “leave no stone unturned” to defend the country.
Iran said four of its missiles struck the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln at sea, a claim denied by US forces. Three American troops have been killed since Saturday. Attacks on US allies and bases have reached Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq.
A hotel in Manama was struck on Sunday, causing injuries. Damage to electrical lines caused power cuts in Kuwait, where one person was killed. Qatar said Iranian attacks were intercepted by fighter jets.
Oman's port of Duqm was hit by two drones, in what Qatar called an “attack on the very principle of mediation” after Muscat had tried to resolve US-Iran tension. Three rounds of talks failed to resolve tension before the US and Israel attacked on Saturday.
Loud explosions were reported in Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Sunday evening. The Kurdish capital is home to the largest US consulate and troops have recently been reposted there from bases in Syria.
The return of war has disrupted air and sea travel. At least one ship caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway for the world's oil. UAE airlines have extended cancellations until Monday afternoon, with more than 3,400 flights called off across the Middle East.
Mood in Iran
In Iran, flashes of joy at Mr Khamenei's demise mixed with fear and mourning. Iran pledged to make the US and Israel pay for their joint attack, which Mr Trump says could open the door to regime change. “We will hit them with a force that they have never experienced before,” said Iranian security official Ali Larijani.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, one of three men handed interim charge after Mr Khamenei's death, said Iran considers “bloodshed and revenge” against the supreme leader's killers to be a “legitimate duty”.
The leadership troika is completed by judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and Islamic scholar Alireza Arafi. Iran's Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body of senior clerics, will elect a permanent successor to Mr Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989.
Mr Trump told The Atlantic that Iran's leadership now “want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them”. He earlier called for Iranians to rise up.
Despite widespread internet cuts, footage showed some people taking to the streets to celebrate Mr Khamenei’s death. But there was no immediate sign of a wider protest against the clerical regime.
“Some are happy with Khamenei's death. Some are happy with attacks that may lead to regime change,” one resident of Tehran told The National. “But some people like me are worried about the side effects of regime change, such as civil war.”
Clouds of dust rose above Tehran's rooftops during the strikes. Another resident of Tehran said there were several waves of “very heavy” explosions about midday local time.
Israel said its air force had bombed two Iranian fighter jets as they prepared for take-off. It said drones and ballistic missile launchers were also destroyed, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned strikes would “intensify further” in the coming days.
Claiming "air superiority over Tehran", the Israeli military said it struck dozens of command centres including headquarters belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), intelligence services and internal security forces. It said about 100,000 reservists were being gathered.
As well as Mr Khamenei, the supreme leader's adviser Ali Shamkhani and IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour were among other top officials killed. The IRGC has launched at least eight waves of strikes in response. As the UAE repelled attacks on Abu Dhabi and Dubai, 152 ballistic missiles were destroyed and 13 others fell into the sea, the Ministry of Defence said.
It said 541 Iranian drones have been launched, 506 were intercepted and destroyed while 35 fell within the country's territory, resulting in three fatalities. The three people killed were from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
A woman and her child were among those injured by falling debris from intercepted drones at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi. Dubai said debris from one interception caused a fire at Jebel Ali Port, where no injuries were reported.
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, said Iran's attacks had “isolated Tehran at a critical moment” and created hostilities with its neighbours that will last beyond the war. He told Iran: “Your war is not with your neighbours.”
The war is also hitting home in Israel as nine people died in a missile strike on Beit Shemesh. More than 20 others were injured in the attack as a bomb shelter was damaged. Another attack in Tel Aviv killed a Filipino domestic worker and left a crater about four metres wide.
Israeli politicians, including opponents of Mr Netanyahu, broadly welcomed the killing of Mr Khamenei, whose anti-Israel rhetoric loomed large over the country. Although Israel has killed leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, the strike on Saturday was the first time it has assassinated a head of state.
Allies of Iran condemned the killing but have yet to intervene military. There was relative quiet in Beirut, where Lebanon's airspace remains open. “We don’t know if it’ll flare up in Lebanon. We didn’t expect this war to start and we certainly don’t know what to expect for the coming days,” said Um Mustafa, a mother of three who has packed a bag of essentials for her family.
