Photo courtesy of AP
MINSK, 1 March (BelTA) – Tensions in the Middle East have escalated after Israel and the United States attacked Iran. Here is a brief summary of what we know so far.
Iran has deployed all branches of its armed forces to repel the attack by the United States and Israel. “The Iranian Armed Forces are determined to defend their country,” Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces Amir Hatami said on Iran’s state television.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike. Iranian authorities declared a 40-day mourning, IRNA reported. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the judiciary, and a member of the Guardian Council will make part of the interim leadership council that will perform the supreme leader’s duties until a successor is elected to replace the deceased Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The US and Israeli strikes also killed the Commander-In-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Mohammad Pakpour and the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Abdul Rahim Mousavi. IRNA reported the deaths of Secretary of the Iranian Defense Council Ali Shamkhani and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.
Tasnim News Agency reported that the death toll in the attack on the elementary girls’ school in the Iranian city of Minab has risen to 148. Another 95 people were injured.
A new series of explosions rocked Tehran as a result of a missile attack.
Iranian television reported that Iranian forces struck more than 20 American military bases in the region, the headquarters of the Israeli army’s general command, and a major defense industrial complex in Tel Aviv.
Al Jazeera reported that at least eight people were injured when debris from downed Iranian missiles fell on Qatari territory. A fire broke out in an industrial zone in Doha due to debris from an intercepted missile.
According to Al Mayadeen, several explosions occurred in Kuwait’s capital, Kuwait City. The United Arab Emirates reported that four people were injured in the strike on Dubai International Airport. The wounded received medical treatment. It was reported that debris from a downed drone hit the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, causing a fire. Debris from drones intercepted by air defense systems also fell in the courtyards of two houses in Dubai. Two people were injured and needed medical treatment.
A Palau-flagged oil tanker came under fire off the coast of Oman, according to the Omani Maritime Security Center. Four people were reportedly injured, and the tanker’s crew was evacuated.
Due to the escalating situation in the Middle East, hundreds of flights have been canceled. Connecting flights from the Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, and African countries are operating through Gulf countries such as the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. The Belarusian national air carrier Belavia has also had to adjust its flight schedule. Specifically, a flight from Dubai to Minsk has been delayed.
On the morning of 28 February, the US and Israel launched a military operation against Iran, striking major Iranian cities. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation. Attacks were reported on Israel, as well as on US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
Photos by AP, Reuters, screenbrab from TASS video
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