DUBAI: The US and Israel pounded targets across Iran on Sunday, dropping massive bombs on the country’s ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Blasts rattled windows across the country and sent plumes of smoke high into the sky above Tehran. More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes, according to Iranian leaders.
As the bombardment went on, the conflict threatened to widen beyond the U.S., Israel and Iran. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah claimed strikes on Israel, which fired back, and Gulf states warned that they could retaliate against Iran after strikes that hit key sites and killed at least five civilians. Meanwhile, European powers offered to help American forces in their effort to stop Iran from attacking other countries.