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Cheers, music, anger: World reacts as Iran's Khamenei is killed

Cheers and mourning in Iran. Euphoric celebrations against the Iranian regime and angry protests against the war. Uncertainty about what comes next.

The world greeted with jubilation, anger or trepidation the news Sunday that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic one day earlier.

- Music in Tehran -

Iranians took to the streets cheering with joy, setting off fireworks and playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei's death, according to witnesses and video footage verified by AFP.

Mourners gathered in Tehran

Waves of blasts heard over Dubai, Doha for second day, witnesses say

By Maha El Dahan and Andrew Mills

DUBAI, March 1 (Reuters) - Loud blasts were heard in Dubai and the Qatari capital Doha for the second day on Sunday, witnesses said, as Iran's retaliatory strikes on neighbouring Gulf states in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic widened.

Iran had said it would target U.S. bases in the region but it has hit a range of other targets across Gulf cities.

Two people were injured in Dubai after shrapnel from drones fell over two houses when they were intercepted, aDubai Media office statement said.

Smoke billows from Jebel Ali port after an Iranian attack, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Trump warns Iran of unprecedented force if it retaliates

March 1 (Reuters) - The United States will hit Iran "with a force that has never been seen before," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, should the Middle East nation retaliate for U.S. strikes.

"Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever been hit before," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

He added, "THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!"

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

A television monitor shows U.S. President Donald Trump's earlier announcement in the otherwise empty press briefing room at the White House, while U.S. President Trump is away at his Mar-a-lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on the day the United States and Israel led attacks on Iran, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 28, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

More strikes aimed at Iran after US, Israeli assault kills supreme leader

DUBAI/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, March 1 - Israel said it had launched another wave of strikes on Iran on Sunday, as Iranians faced uncertainty after the killing of their supreme leader in U.S. and Israeli attacks that threatened to destabilize the wider Middle East.

Hours after the United States and Israel said that an air strike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as part of the most ambitious series of attacks on Iran in decades, Iranian state media confirmed the 86-year-old leader's death on Saturday.

People react as they gather at the Enghelab Square, after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and U.S. strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

OPEC+ mulls oil production increase in shadow of war

As a fresh Middle East conflict risks sending oil prices sharply higher, Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key members of the OPEC+ alliance are widely expected to announce an output increase Sunday, analysts say.

The virtual meeting by the eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied nations (OPEC+) known as the "Voluntary Eight" (V8) comes a day after the US and Israel launched an ongoing wave of strikes on Iran.

In recent weeks, mounting tensions between Washington and Tehran have dominated market sentiment and raised fears of a wider conflict that could see Iran try to block the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which 20 percent of the world's oil supply flows

Iran's Ali Khamenei, who based iron rule on fiery hostility to US and Israel, dies at 86

By Parisa Hafezi

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Reuters) - The 36-year rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei built Iran into a powerful anti-U.S. force, spreading its military sway across the Middle East, while using an iron fist to crush repeated unrest at home.

He was killed on Saturday, aged 86, Iranian state media announced, in air strikes by Israel and the U.S. that pulverised his central Tehran compound, after decades of efforts to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program diplomatically failed.

A photo of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is shown on TV when the news of his death is announced, in Tehran, Iran March 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Explainer-Why is the US attacking Iran?

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - 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.

Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Blasts heard in Kabul amid clashes between Afghan, Pakistani forces

KABUL, March 1 (Reuters) - Blasts and gunfire were heard in Kabul on Sunday, a Reuters journalist in the Afghan capital said, as fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan entered a fourth day.

Explosions echoed across parts of the city before sunrise, followed by bursts of gunfire, the journalist said.

It was not immediately clear what had been targeted or whether there were casualties.

Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the sounds were the result of Afghan forces targeting Pakistani aircraft over the capital.

Taliban soldiers stand on top of a their post as they guard near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Khost province, Afghanistan, February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Factbox-US deploys suicide drones and Tomahawk missiles in Iran strikes

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The United States unleashed an array of weaponry against Iranian targets on Saturday, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, stealth fighters, and for the first time in combat, low-cost one-way attack drones modeled after Iranian designs.

U.S. Central Command released photographs showing Tomahawk missiles, F-18 and F-35 fighter jets alongside details of the strikes on Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury.

DRONES

Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS