A small oil tanker was targeted off Oman’s coast in the Arabian Sea, authorities report, the first sign of an attack on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Oman’s Maritime Security said the Skylight tanker was targeted north of Khasab port, according to a post on X. It evacuated a 20-person crew and four people were injured, it said.
Bloomberg
A massive explosion has struck Iran’s capital Sunday, with the blast sending a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground.
While the target of the attack was unclear, the Israeli military said it was targeting the “heart” of the city. The blast appeared centered in a neighborhood home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television.
The Israeli military added that while the first day of operations was focused on clearing the path to Tehran, the second day of strikes was targeted at central Tehran.
AP
At least nine people have been killed and more than a dozen injured in Karachi, Pakistan after pro-Iran Shiite muslims attempted to storm the US consulate.
Hundreds of people attempted to storm the consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi smashing windows and setting a motorcycle on fire after the US and Israel attacked Iran and killed the country’s supreme leader.
Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, police official Mohammad Jawad said.
AP
Millions of people lived their entire lives under the iron rule of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
When reports of his demise began to trickle in, videos from inside Iran began to flood social media showing scenes of celebration on the streets of some cities and towns.
Social media footage showed jubilant scenes in some Iranian cities and towns.
The reaction by the authorities was denial, then mourning. Iran’s state television confirmed Khamenei’s death about 5am (Iranian time). A news presenter delivered the statement with a trembling voice as the channel placed a black banner in the corner of the screen and broadcast recitations of Koranic verses – a visual cue traditionally used to signal national mourning.
Some time later, images from Tehran showed people on the streets mourning at what appeared to be pro-government events, some carrying portraits of Khamenei. By contrast, footage from other parts of the country verified by The New York Times showed cars honking and people dancing and chanting in jubilation – even as the country’s political future post-Khamenei remained highly uncertain.
Bloomberg
Flight tracking website FlightAware registered 20,273 flights delayed on Saturday, with a further 4500 delayed on Sunday.
Some 34 per cent of flights to Dubai International Airport and 41 per cent of flights into Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport were cancelled, while Abu Dhabi International had 35 per cent of flights cancelled, FlightAware data showed.
A number of planes turned back to Australia. Since Saturday, there have been three arrivals and nine departures cancelled from Sydney Airport.
“Sydney Airport continues to monitor the situation impacting airspace in parts of the Middle East,” an airport spokesperson said.
Passengers travelling to or from the Middle East are encouraged to check with their airline for the latest information, the spokesperson said.
Between 3000 and 4000 Australians have had their travel plans thrown into chaos by the conflict, said chief executive of the Australian Travel Industry Association Dean Long. Many of them are travelling to or from Europe.
“There are going to be a lot of people impacted – every 12 hours, another 3000 Australians [will be] impacted by these changes,” Long told ABC News.
Four planes returned to Melbourne Airport on Saturday, including one diverted from Sydney because of Sydney’s 11pm curfew. One Qatar Airways flight to Doha and two Emirates flights to Dubai were cancelled on Saturday at Melbourne Airport.
On Sunday, one Emirates flight to Dubai and two Qatar Airways flights to Doha (one booked as Virgin) were cancelled.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to attack Iran with a “force never seen before” if it continues to fire on allied countries in the Middle East.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump said he had seen reports Iran was planning on Sunday to hit back “harder than they have ever hit before” following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Trump implored the Iranian regime not to proceed with further action, because the US would “hit them with a force that has never been seen before” in retaliation.
Good evening and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the outbreak of the Iran War.
Here’s what you need to know about the first 24 hours of the conflict.
- Israel and the US attacked Iran in a joint military strike on Saturday, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and striking targets in Tehran and other major cities.
- Iran launched retaliation strikes across the Middle East, with blasts reported in Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, prompting Trump to warn that the US would attack Iran with a “never seen before” strength if it continues to fire on allied countries in the Middle East.
- More than 200 Iranian civilians have been killed in the conflict. Members of Iran’s senior leadership and Khamenei’s immediate family were also among the deceased.
- Nine people were killed in Karachi, Pakistan, after hundreds of pro-Iran protesters attempted to storm the US consulate.
- More than 20,000 flights have been delayed due to the war, particularly in the busy regional hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Between 3000 and 4000 Australians have had their travel plans thrown into chaos by the conflict
- In a Sunday morning press conference, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong reiterated Australia’s support for any action that might stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but avoided justifying the strikes on the basis that they might force regime change.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
