Iran supreme leader

March 1, 2026 4:15 PM

In Khamenei’s absence, pragmatist Larijani emerges as power broker in Iran

Veteran Iranian politician Ali Larijani, who said on Sunday a temporary leadership council would be set up after an air strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reemerged last year as one of the most powerful figures in the security hierarchy. He has been managing a broad portfolio from nuclear negotiations to Tehran’s regional ties to its violent suppression of internal unrest. An establishment insider who hails from one of the country's leading clerical families, Larijani had b...

March 1, 2026 4:10 PM

PV Sindhu stranded at Dubai airport amid Middle East crisis

India's double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu said that she was left stranded at Dubai airport on her way to the All England Open badminton tournament after the flight operations were suspended in the city as a result of the ongoing conflict in the region. Explosions were heard across the Gulf as Iran responded to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, with blasts in the United Arab Emirates' capital of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, leading to Dubai International Airport suspending all flights. “To everyone who h...

March 1, 2026 1:36 PM

Trump’s Iran strikes mark his biggest foreign policy gamble

With his large-scale attack on Iran, Donald Trump has seized a legacy-defining moment to demonstrate his readiness to exercise raw U.S. military power. But in doing so, he is also taking the biggest foreign policy gamble of his presidency, one fraught with risks and unknowns. Trump joined with Israel to plunge into war against Iran, and after a day of air strikes announced on Saturday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed, which would mark a major achievement for the operat...

March 1, 2026 1:37 PM

Explainer: Why is the US attacking Iran?

The United States and Israel launched their most ambitious attacks on Iran in decades on Saturday in an operation that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The biggest foreign-policy gamble of U.S. President Donald Trump's presidency comes after he campaigned for reelection as a "peace president" and after saying he preferred a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Iran. Trump did not make a sustained case to the American people before acting, but addressed the issue briefly in his ...

March 1, 2026 12:23 PM

What is the Strait of Hormuz and why is it so important for oil?

The United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday in a development that could lead to a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil export route, for days. Below are details about the strait: WHAT IS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ? The strait lies between Oman and Iran and links the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond. It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just 2 miles (3 km) wide in either direction. WHY DOES IT MAT...

March 1, 2026 12:13 PM

Ahead of strikes, Trump was told Iran attack is high risk, high reward

Ahead of the U.S. attack on Iran, President Donald Trump received briefings that not only delivered blunt assessments about the risk of major U.S. casualties but also touted the prospect of a geopolitical shift in the Middle East in favor of U.S. interests, a U.S. official told Reuters. The launch of what the Pentagon called Operation Epic Fury on Saturday plunged the Middle East into a new and unpredictable conflict. The U.S. and Israeli militaries struck sites across Iran, triggering retaliat...

March 1, 2026 12:02 PM

US tells Lebanon: Israel won’t escalate if no hostile acts come from Lebanese side

Lebanon's presidency said on Saturday it had been told by the U.S. ambassador that Israel would not escalate against Lebanon as long as there are no hostile acts from the Lebanese side, following the launch of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. Lebanon's Shi'ite Muslim armed group Hezbollah, long one of Tehran's principal allies in the Middle East, expressed solidarity with Iran on Saturday but stopped short of saying whether it would get involved. In its statement, Hezbollah said the U.S.-Israeli ...

March 1, 2026 11:39 AM

Trump cheers death of Iranian leader, says strikes will continue

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday celebrated U.S.-Israeli airstrikes that killed Iran's leader, but warned attacks would continue. The strikes, which Trump said were aimed at destroying Iranian missiles and annihilating its navy, follow repeated U.S.-Israeli warnings that they would strike Iran again if it pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Trump, who is monitoring the operation from his Mar-a-Lago oceanfront resort in Florida, posted on Saturday afternoon tha...

January 18, 2026 2:38 PM

Iran’s leader Khamenei accuses Trump of inciting deadly protests

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday blamed President Donald Trump for weeks of demonstrations that rights groups said have led to more than 3,000 deaths. "We consider the U.S. president criminal for the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted on the Iranian nation," Khamenei said, according to Iranian state media. The protests erupted on December 28 over economic hardship and swelled into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule in the Islamic Re...

January 4, 2026 12:50 PM

Iran supreme leader says will not yield as protests simmer and US threatens

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to yield after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to come to the aid of protesters, as rights groups reported a sharp rise in arrests following days of unrest sparked by soaring inflation. Speaking in a recorded appearance on television on Saturday, Khamenei said the Islamic Republic "will not yield to the enemy" and said rioters should be "put in their place". Rights groups say more than 10 people have been killed and scores detained ...