The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a senior security adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were killed in airstrikes conducted by the United States and Israel, state media reported Sunday.
The state-run IRNA news agency reported that Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who became the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed his predecessor during the 12-day June war, was among those killed.
Also killed was Ali Shamkhani, a long-standing figure in Iran’s security establishment, who had been wounded in the June conflict, IRNA said.
Council formed to govern Iran after Khamenei’s killing
A council has been formed to govern Iran following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The council, enshrined in Iranian law, consists of the sitting president, the head of the judiciary, and a member of the Guardian Council selected by the Expediency Council, which advises the supreme leader and resolves disputes with parliament.
Iranian reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei are members of the council.
Iranian law mandates that the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible,” select a new supreme leader.
Debris from aerial interception sparks fire at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port
Dubai authorities said debris from an aerial interception caused a fire at the city’s Jebel Ali Port, a major global transshipment hub.
The Dubai Media Office stated that emergency crews responded immediately to the blaze on one of the port’s berths and worked to contain it.
The sprawling Jebel Ali, located between Dubai’s two man-made palm-shaped islands, is the world’s busiest port outside East Asia. Debris from the interception also struck the Palm Jumeirah.
Officials reported that debris from an intercepted drone caused a fire on the facade of the Burj Al Arab hotel. The media office also noted that Dubai International Airport was damaged and four employees were injured.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatens “most-intense offensive operation” ever
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard warned Sunday that it would launch its “most-intense offensive operation” in response to Khamenei’s death.
“The most-intense offensive operation in the history of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will begin in moments, targeting (Israel) and American terrorist bases,” it said.
Mourners raised a black flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and a major Shiite pilgrimage site.
Global shipping firm instructs vessels in Persian Gulf to shelter
A global shipping company has ordered its vessels in and bound for the Persian Gulf to seek shelter due to rising military tensions and restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
CMA CGM said on its website that it had suspended passage through the Suez Canal, a key route connecting the Red and Mediterranean seas.
“Vessels will be rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope,” the company said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard promises “regret-inducing punishment”
The Revolutionary Guard vowed Sunday that a “severe, decisive and regret-inducing punishment” would follow Khamenei’s death.
The Guard, which answered only to Khamenei, said after state media confirmed the 86-year-old leader’s death:
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and what it called the vast popular Basij forces will powerfully continue the path of their leader in defending his legacy, standing firm against internal and external plots and delivering what it described as a lesson-giving punishment to aggressors against the Islamic homeland.”