- Israeli jets struck an underground bunker beneath Tehran's supreme leader compound early Friday
- About 50 jets participated, targeting a bunker used by Iranian officials after Khamenei's death
- The bunker was key for Iran's military plans and extremist ideology, spreading across Tehran streets
Israeli fighter jets carried out a major strike in the heart of Tehran early on Friday, targeting an underground bunker built beneath the leadership compound of Iran's supreme leader. The Israeli Air Force said approximately 50 jets took part in the operation, guided by precise intelligence from Israel's Military Intelligence and coordinated with Mossad. The target was the underground bunker constructed for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Israeli military described the bunker as serving as "a secure emergency asset" intended for Khamenei to manage fighting during a conflict. It was never used by Khamenei because he had already been eliminated in earlier strikes during Operation "Roaring Lion". After his death, the compound continued to be used by other senior officials of the Iranian regime.
According to the Israeli Air Force, the regime had spent years developing the underground site with the aim of creating a base to advance its military plans and to promote what Israel called its extremist and brutal ideology directed against Israel and the Western world.
"The underground bunker sprawled across entire streets in the heart of Tehran and included multiple entry points and rooms for gatherings of the senior officials of the Iranian terror regime," the Israeli Air Force said in a statement.
The strike followed extensive intelligence gathering and prolonged research by Israel's Military Intelligence. The leadership compound itself served as the central and most important headquarters of the Iranian regime. The Israeli military said the destruction of the bunker has further damaged the regime's command and control capabilities.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who held power as Iran's supreme leader for more than three decades, was killed in joint United States and Israeli strikes. He was 86. Iranian state media announced his death early on Sunday following a major attack launched by Israel and the United States.
Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump stated that Khamenei had been killed in the joint operation.
Khamenei took control of the Islamic Republic in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader who had overthrown the Shah and established rule by Shiite Muslim clerics. Khomeini had been a charismatic figure who led the 1979 revolution. Khamenei, by contrast, was a more reserved personality with less prominent religious qualifications.
He turned the revolutionary system into a functioning state apparatus and ruled for far longer than his predecessor. During his time in power, he expanded the Shiite clerical establishment and strengthened the Revolutionary Guard, turning it into the most powerful institution in the country.
The Guard served as an elite military force, controlled the ballistic missile programme and operated across large parts of Iran's economy.
Iranian state media reported that Khamenei's daughter, his son-in-law, a grandchild and a daughter-in-law were also killed in Saturday's attack. The government has announced 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday.
Fresh Wave Of Attacks
On Friday morning, the Israeli military announced the start of a broad wave of attacks. Witnesses reported intense explosions in Tehran and around missile bases near Kermanshah. Israel said it had destroyed most of Iran's air-defence systems and missile launchers. Iran responded by firing missiles and drones at Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries hosting US forces. No immediate casualties were reported from those attacks.
In Lebanon, Israel carried out multiple airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas, prompting large numbers of people to flee.
The United States and Israel have conducted nationwide strikes on Iranian military sites, leadership targets and nuclear facilities. Iranian counterattacks have affected Arab states, disrupted oil supplies and global air travel. Officials report at least 1,230 deaths in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon, around a dozen in Israel and six US troops killed.
The US military reported striking an Iranian drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, which caught fire. The vessel is a converted container ship with a 180-metre runway for drones and a range of 22,000 nautical miles without refuelling.
Earlier, a US submarine sank an Iranian frigate off Sri Lanka as it returned from a naval exercise hosted by India in which the United States also participated. Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 crew members and recovered 87 bodies.
US B-2 stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrator bombs on deeply buried ballistic missile launchers inside Iran. Qatar intercepted a drone aimed at Al Udeid Air Base.
