Thai Prime Minister says preparations are underway to evacuate civilians in Middle East
Thailand is ready to evacuate its citizens from the Middle East via the military or charter flights, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters in Bangkok.
The Thai government has “coordinated with the Royal Thai Air Force to prepare aircraft to evacuate Thai citizens, giving priority to those in Iran,” he said, adding that charter flights were also under consideration.
“We have to review the closure of the airspace, should we evacuate them to a third country first,” he said.
After the attacks on Iran, Middle East airports were closed and thousands of passengers were stranded
Airports across the Middle East were closed on Sunday as the conflict entered a second day. Emirates Airlines has suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Sunday afternoon. According to Qatar Airways, Qatar Airport is closed until at least Monday morning. Israeli airspace was closed on Sunday.
Millions of passengers were stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace. There was no flight activity over the United Arab Emirates, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said, after the government there announced a “temporary and partial closure” of its airspace.
It led to the closure of major hub airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha and the cancellation of more than 1,800 flights by major Middle Eastern airlines. The three major airlines operating at those airports — Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad — typically handle about 90,000 passengers a day through those hubs, with many more going to destinations in the Middle East, according to aviation analytics firm Sirius.
Airlines crossing the Middle East have to reroute flights around the conflict, with many heading south over Saudi Arabia.
Attack on Iranian Cultural Center in Ecuador
Several people attacked an Iranian cultural center in Ecuador’s capital Quito, injuring one person and damaging the facility, police said.
Officials said a group of people arrived at the center in a convoy of vehicles and used sticks, stones and tear gas to break windows and attack those inside. One person was reportedly injured in the attack. It is unclear if anyone has been arrested.
Videos shared on social media show people holding Israeli, US and Iranian opposition flags near the facility. “Get out, thugs, get out, terrorists, you have to leave this country,” a woman can be heard shouting.
People at the center were praying during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Hundreds of protesters besiege US consulate in Karachi, Pakistan after killing of Iran’s supreme leader
Hundreds of people stormed the US consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi and smashed windows after a US and Israeli attack on Iran that killed the country’s supreme leader, police said.
Police and paramilitary forces used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd, said police officer Mohammad Jawad. At least one protester was killed and several others injured in clashes between protesters and security forces, he said.
Explosions were heard over Jerusalem after incoming missiles were spotted
Air raid sirens and explosions were heard over Jerusalem after the Israeli military said it had detected missiles fired from Iran towards Israel.
“Sirens were sounded in several areas across the country after missiles fired from Iran towards the State of Israel were detected,” the military said.
“At this time, the Israeli Air Force is working to intercept and strike threats where necessary to eliminate the threat.”
Iraq has declared three days of mourning for Khamenei’s death
Iraq has declared three days of mourning following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“With deep sorrow, we express our condolences to the noble people of Iran and the entire Muslim world,” government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said in a statement after Khamenei was killed in an “aggressive act of conflict.”
He said the government has announced three days of mourning.
The UN nuclear agency said it will hold an extraordinary meeting in Iran on Monday
In the wake of the US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic, the United Nations nuclear agency will hold an extraordinary meeting in Iran on Monday, targeting part of Tehran’s nuclear program.
In a statement late Saturday, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it would convene a special session of the IAEA’s governing body on matters related to military strikes by the United States and Israel against territory in the Islamic Republic of Iran at Russia’s request.
Iran’s armed forces chief and defense minister were killed, Iran TV reports
Iran’s army chief and defense minister were killed in an airstrike targeting a meeting of Iran’s defense council, Iranian state television reported.
Gen. Abdolraheem Mousavi and Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed in a meeting with Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard chief and security adviser Ali Shamkhani, whose deaths were announced by Iran on Sunday morning.
Protesters attempt to lay siege to US Embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone
Hundreds of Iraqis have been trying to enter Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy is located, since the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, an AFP journalist reported.
“His efforts have been thwarted so far, but he keeps trying,” said a security source.
Protesters, some carrying flags of pro-Iranian armed groups, threw stones at security forces, who responded with tear gas.
Local media reported protests in other provinces of southern Iraq.
Several Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups said Saturday they would not remain “neutral” and defend the Islamic Republic. The powerful group Kataeb Hezbollah said it would attack US bases after two of its fighters were killed in an airstrike in southern Iraq. Early Sunday morning, large explosions were heard near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition forces in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
Iranian media reported that several large explosions were heard in Tehran
Description: Ayatollah Khamenei
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed Saturday in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.
Read more about Khamenei and his high position here:
Iran’s security chief has warned against partition efforts after the US and Israeli attacks
Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani has warned against attempts to divide Iran following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Groups that want to divide Iran must know that we will not tolerate that,” Larijani, the head of the Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview broadcast on state TV, calling on Iranians to unite.
Recap:
For those of you just waking up, here are the biggest news developments overnight:
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was allegedly killed in a joint US-Israeli military operation on Saturday.
The news was first announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and later confirmed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian state media.
Eyewitnesses said that blast waves were heard in Dubai and Doha on the second day as well
Eyewitnesses reported that heavy explosions were heard in Dubai and the Qatari capital Doha.
Iran had said it would target US bases in the region but it hit other targets across Gulf cities.
Two people were injured when shrapnel from drones fell on two houses in Dubai, the Dubai Media Office said in a statement.
Dubai’s international airport, its landmark Burj Al Arab hotel and the posh man-made Palm Jumeirah island were all damaged.
Qatar’s interior ministry said on Sunday it was responding to a limited fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile.
An Iranian security official said the Khamenei transition process would begin on Sunday
Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said the transition process following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin on Sunday.
“An interim leadership council will be formed soon. The president, the head of the judiciary and the jurists of the Guardian Council will take charge until the election of the next leader,” said Larijani, head of Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, who has been an adviser to Khamenei.
“This council will be established as soon as possible. We are working to form it from today,” he said in an interview aired on state TV.
If Iran retaliates, Trump threatens ‘never seen before’
President Donald Trump has warned that the United States will hit Iran with “unprecedented force” if the country retaliates for US and Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump, who vowed to seek regime change in the Islamic republic on his Truth Social Forum, indicated that “he’s going to hit very hard today, he’s going to hit harder than ever.”
“They better not, however, if they do, we will hit them with a force never seen before!” He said.
Iranian state television confirmed Sunday that the US and Israeli bombing campaign that followed a massive military buildup in the Middle East unseen since the 2003 invasion of Iraq killed Khamenei. Iran has retaliated with reported attacks across the Gulf, including near the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi and regional US military bases.
Trump said US bombing would continue “as long as necessary” and noted that Khamenei’s assassination would give the Iranians a “great opportunity” to take power from the current regime.
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(tags to translate)Asia / Pacific
