By SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER and ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER and KELLY LACO, US EXECUTIVE EDITOR, POLITICS and OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER and KELLY GARINO and PHILLIP NIETO, US POLITICAL REPORTER and TOM LAWRENCE, NEWS REPORTER
Updated: 07:20 EST, 1 March 2026
Iran has raised its so-called ‘Red Flag of Revenge’ and has vowed to hit the US and Israel with a ‘force never experienced before’ following the killing of the country’s Supreme Leader.
Airstrikes continued to rain down on the Iranian capital for the second day as the country’s president has branded the killing of the country’s Supreme Leader a ‘declaration of war against Muslims’.
Iran has retaliated with a series of strikes across its neighbouring Gulf states, with explosions heard in Qatar, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Donald Trump promised to strike Iran ‘with a force that has never been seen before,’ after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced they had attacked nearly 30 US military bases across the Middle East on Sunday morning.
The targeted attacks on American assets in the destabilized region are part of Iran’s self-proclaimed ‘most intense offensive operation in history,’ in retaliation for the killing of Islamic State Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Black smoke was seen rising from a US airbase at Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq at sunrise, after the IRGC promised their most ferocious counterattack.
Khamenei, Iran’s leader of 37 years, and members of his close family were decimated by joint US and Israeli bombardment on his home in Tehran on Saturday morning.
Trump, however, hit back in a midnight Truth Social post that read: ‘Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!’
Israel announced in the early hours of Sunday that it had begun a new ‘strike wave’ targeting Iran’s ballistic missiles and aerial defense systems, after Iran launched drones and missiles at Tel Aviv, which were intercepted and shot down.
In response, the IRGC said it was carrying out a ‘sixth wave’ of ‘extensive missile and drone’ attacks on 27 US military bases. The extent of the damage is not yet clear.
It comes as Iran formally confirmed that Khamenei was killed in his home office. ‘To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return,’ an Iranian news agency said.
Two high-level military leaders – Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, and commander of the IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour – and four of Khamenei’s close family were also obliterated in the Tehran strikes on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, jubilant protesters inside Iran were seen toppling a statue of the Ayatollah in the early hours of Sunday, in celebration after he was killed by the bombardment.
Follow all the latest on the Daily Mail’s live blog.
Key developments today as Israel/US offensive on Iran continues Here are the key events from today:
President Donald Trump warned US will strike with ‘force never seen before’ if Tehran carries out threats of harsh retaliation. Iran continued its onslaught of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East. Iranian strikes hit sites in Dubai for the second day in a row, as well as strikes in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq. Strikes hit Oman for the first time today and a tanker in the Straight of Hormuz caught on fire after it was hit by an Iranian drone strike. Trump and Netanyahu urged Iranians to rise up and overthrow the government. Defence Secretary John Healey revealed that missiles were fired towards Cyprus, narrowly missing British troops. The ‘Red Flag of Revenge’ was raised in Iran following the death of the Supreme Leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the killing of Khamenei a ‘cynical murder’. Iran has raised a ‘Red Flag of Revenge’ following the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei yesterday.
The flag was raised over the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, the third largest mosque in the world today.
Former Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levy said: ‘The Islamic Republic has raised the Red Flag of Revenge.
‘The regime is so compromised, I wouldn’t be surprised if the man on the flagpole is Mossad.’
Moment IDF air strike destroys ‘Iranian terror headquarters’ in Tehran This is the moment an Israeli bomb struck a building in Tehran, thought to be the headquarters of the Iranian regime, the IDF said.
Dozens of Israeli bombs obliterated the two buildings in Tehran.
The Israeli Defence Force said the airstrike was carried out on the ‘headquarters of the Iranian terror regime’.
Trump warns Iran: US will strike with ‘force never seen before’ if Tehran carries out threats of harsh retaliation President Donald Trump shared a statement on Truth Social early Sunday morning warning Iran against following through on its threats of retaliation after the joint US-Israel strike.
‘Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they ever hit before,’ he wrote.
‘THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!’
Breaking:Nearly 30 US bases targeted by Iranian retaliatory strikes as air attack sirens wail across Israel The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it launched a sixth wave of attacks in retaliation for the joint US-Israel operation that killed Ayatollah Khamenei.
In its statement, the IRGC declared a wide‑ranging offensive of missile and drone strikes in the early hours of Sunday morning.
It said that 27 US military bases, along with Israel’s Tel Nof Airbase, the army’s command headquarters at HaKirya in Tel Aviv and a major defense industrial complex in the city, were all hit.
Meanwhile, sirens have begun to blare across parts of Israel as the military warns of another potential Iranian attack.
A large cloud of thick black smoke rising over Erbil Air Base in Iraq.
The smoke was reported Sunday morning after Iran’s Fars News Agency said heavy explosions were heard in the Iraqi city.
Erbil Air Base hosts a contingent of US troops, though the exact number remains unclear. They are in Iraq primarily to advise and assist Iraqi security forces.
A CNN team on the ground in Dubai also reported hearing three loud blasts shortly after 8am on Sunday morning.
The update comes shortly after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that its ‘largest offensive operation in the history of its armed forces’ would be launched ‘in moments,’ towards both Israel and US bases.
Pictured: Smoke rising from the Erbil International Airport, northern Iraq, where the US has a military airbase
Indonesia offers to mediate between US and Israel Iran’s embassy in Jakarta said Sunday it welcomed Indonesia’s offer to mediate between Washington and Tehran, following US and Israeli strikes against Iran.
Indonesia’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that President Prabowo Subianto was willing to travel to Tehran to carry out mediation if agreed by both parties.
The Iranian embassy welcomes “the readiness of the President of the Republic of Indonesia to mediate in this conflict”, the mission said in a statement.
The embassy also “emphasized the importance of taking a firm stance by Indonesian officials in condemning the aggression and crimes of the United States and the Zionist regime of Israel”.
Girl seriously injured after Iranian missile hits Israeli city The Magen David Adom ambulance service says its medics are treating several people wounded following an Iranian ballistic missile impact in Beit Shemesh, central Israel.
It said among the injuries, one girl is in a serious condition.
Cyprus denies missiles were launched towards them Cyprus has denied claims made by Defence Secretary John Healey that missiles were launched towards Cyprus.
Earlier Mr Healey revealed that two missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, while Iranian strikes landed within ‘a few hundred yards’ of British troops in Bahrain.
Cyprus government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said: ‘In relation to statements and media reports referring to the launch of missiles towards the direction of Cyprus, it is clarified that this is not the case and there is no indication whatsoever that any threat to the country has occurred.
‘The competent authorities are closely monitoring the situation on a continuous basis.
Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus, said he confirmed in a call with Sir Keir Starmer that his country was not a target.
‘We had two ballistic missiles fired in the direction of Cyprus,’ John Healey told the BBC earlier today, noting UK warplanes were involved in “defensive” actions in the region, operating from the UK’s airbase on the island and from a base in Qatar.
‘Now we are pretty sure they weren’t targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless it demonstrates how our bases, our personnel, military and civilians at the moment are at risk,’ he said, without providing further details about the missiles and any interception of them.
Foreign Office warns against all non-essential travel to Gulf states The UK Foreign Office has advised against ‘all but essential travel’ to Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: ‘British nationals currently in those countries should shelter in place, avoid travel where possible and follow instructions from the local authorities.’
Cricket star Jonny Bairstow stranded in Dubai Former England cricket star Jonny Bairstow has appealed for help from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer after becoming stuck in the Middle East while on holiday during the ongoing attack in the region.
On Sunday morning, Bairstow took to social media asking for updates on a potential return home.
‘If anyone has any intel in Dubai please reach out. Keep safe,’ he wrote.
North Korea condemns attacks on Iran as ‘illegal aggression’ North Korea’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Israel’s attacks on Iran and the US military operation there were ‘illegal aggression’ and a ‘violation of national sovereignty’.
Pyongyang and Tehran have previously shared missile technology.
Israeli drones destroy two fighter jets in Iran The IDF said it has destroyed two Iranian fighter jets which were ready to takeoff from Tabriz Airport in Iran.
An IDF spokesperson said: ‘The attack was carried out in order to harm the activities of the Iranian Air Force and to deepen the damage to the regime’s defense systems.