Israel and the US have launched fresh waves of intensive attacks across Iran on the second day of their military campaign to overthrow the country’s government, which has plunged the Middle East into a new regional conflict with no certain timeline or outcome.
The renewed violence on Sunday comes amid heated rhetoric from Washington and Tehran that suggests further escalation in the coming hours and days.
The US president, Donald Trump, said on Sunday that the US would hit Iran “with a force that has never been seen before” if Tehran carried out threats to retaliate after the death of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.

Iranian retaliation has targeted Israel as well as civilian infrastructure and US military bases across the Arab Gulf states. Loud blasts were heard for a second day on Sunday in Dubai and over Qatar’s capital, Doha, witnesses said.
Puffs of white smoke from missile interceptions were glimpsed in the skies over Dubai, while billows of dark smoke rose over its port, one of the busiest in the Middle East.
Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel and its airport, which handles more than 1,000 flights a day, were damaged in Iranian attacks overnight on sites that also hit airports in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. The airport in Dubai, the world’s busiest international travel hub, remained shut, along with other major Middle East airports, causing one of global aviation’s
most severe disruptions in years.
Ships have reported hearing a radio broadcast purporting to come from the Iranian navy announcing that transit through the vital strait of Hormuz, the narrow maritime corridor which is a crucial chokepoint for the world’s oil supplies, was banned, raising expectations of a
sharp jump in oil prices. Authorities in Oman reported damage to at least one oil tanker, though it was not immediately clear who attacked the vessel.
There are few details of damage or casualties in Iran, but Iranian authorities said
more than 100 children were killed at a school in the southern city of Minab.

Senior Iranian officials said a temporary leadership group would be appointed and Ghalibaf also said Iran would “continue Khamenei’s path”.
Iran’s leaders have faced multiple crises in recent months, with an economy suffering from US and other sanctions, massive protests that were bloodily repressed in January, and regional proxies severely weakened by Israeli attacks,
& that whole ‘water’ thing but shhhh…
The exact word from Trump was "obllierated". Was that a lie?
Trump said the airstrikes aimed to end a decades-long threat from Iran and ensure it could not develop a nuclear weapon.
Many Israeli officials appeared convinced that the death of Khamenei would prompt an almost immediate country-wide uprising, analysts in Israel said.
But while the deaths of Khamenei and other Iranian leaders will undoubtedly weaken the regime, Iran’s rulers still have strong support among parts of the 93 million population and key institutions, such as the powerful and ideologically committed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, remain loyal.
The US and Israeli offensive has rocked much of the Islamic world. There were protests in Pakistan, where police on Sunday clashed with protesters who breached the outer wall of the US consulate in Karachi, leaving nine people dead, and outside the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, where the US embassy is located.
Trump threatens Tehran with force ‘never seen before’ if it pursues retaliation after Khamenei’s death
apple.news
As of early 2026, Iran stands largely isolated among Middle Eastern governments in its conflict with the U.S. and Israel, with key support coming only from its non-state "Axis of Resistance" proxies: Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and various militias in Iraq and Syria. Many regional neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, condemned Iran's retaliatory strikes and, in some cases, helped intercept missiles.
As tensions escalate, Iran appears isolated in the region, as its primary ally, the so-called "Axis of Resistance", has received significant blows from Israel over the past few years.
- The US and Israel launched coordinated strikes targeting Iran's top leaders after months of planning
- Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Israel and US bases in the Middle East, including UAE and Kuwait.
This "axis of resistance" includes groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Iraq, and the Houthi militants in Yemen, as well as Hamas in Gaza. Iran also maintains a strong ground influence in Iraq and Yemen. Over the past week, there has also been a noticeable acceleration of military cooperation between Iran, Russia, and China.
Another Asian power that has maintained close ties with Iran is Pakistan – the only Islamic country with a nuclear arsenal. However, Islamabad had made its allegiances very clear during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June 2025, when Pakistani leaders distanced themselves from Tehran.
Amid Iran's retaliation to Israel-US joint attacks, several Middle Eastern powers, including the
UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, have vowed to respond to Tehran for "a dangerous escalation".