Supreme Leader of Iran Khamenei dead following Israel’s strike on Iran

At least six people were killed and 8 others injured after hundreds of protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, on Sunday.

About 500 Shiite Muslims gathered at the consulate to protest the joint attack on Iran by the U.S. and Israel, The Associated Press reported, smashing windows and clashing with security forces.

Police and paramilitary forces used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd, a police official said.

The protest comes after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along several top leaders, were killed after an Israeli strike in Tehran on Saturday.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said “justice has been served” after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike Saturday.

"The oppressor Khamenei was thwarted in the opening strike of Operation ‘Lion’s Roar,’ along with other senior officials in the Iranian terror fortress,” Katz said in a statement Sunday. “Whoever acted to destroy Israel was destroyed.”

“Justice has been served, and the axis of evil has suffered a fatal blow,” he added.

Katz praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his “leadership and determination” and the Israel Defense Forces for its “brilliant execution.”

“We will continue to act with all our might for the defense of the State of Israel,” he said.

President Donald Trump warned Iran early Sunday that the U.S. will strike them with a force never seen before if Tehran follows through with its retaliation threats.

“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever been hit before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

Trump's warning came after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said earlier Sunday that it would launch its “most-intense offensive operation,” beginning in “moments.”

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed Saturday in a targeted Israeli military strike.

Cuba on Saturday urged the U.S. and Israel to halt their military strikes against Iran, calling the attacks a violation of Iran’s sovereignty.

“This irresponsible and deliberate aggression boycotts, for the second time, the efforts of international diplomacy in relation to the nuclear issue, which had been under negotiation,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba said. “Once again, the United States and Israel threaten and seriously endanger regional and international peace, stability, and security, the effects of which are already being felt in the Middle East region.”

Cuba warned that the operations could draw other countries in the region into the conflict, causing “unpredictable consequences.”

“It is urgent that the United Nations Security Council exercise its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, and that the UN General Assembly mobilize the international community to restore peace with the urgency and determination that the moment demands,” the ministry added.

New York City's socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing blowback from conservatives on social media over his post condemning the U.S. attack on Iran that led to the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Saturday, as a joint strike on Iran by the United States and Israel was developing, Mamdani blasted the Trump administration's decision in a post on X that has been viewed roughly 20 million times. 

"Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression," Mamdani wrote.

"Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change."

Mamdani said Americans prefer "relief from the affordability crisis" before speaking directly to Iranians in New York City.

"You are part of the fabric of this city — you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders," Mamdani said. "You will be safe here.

"The post was quickly slammed by conservatives on social media making the case that Mamdani's response appeared sympathetic to Iran's brutal regime and pointing to his lack of public reaction to the Iranian protesters killed in recent years.

"Comrade Mayor is rooting for the Ayatollah," GOP Sen. Ted Cruz posted on X. "They can chant together."

"Do u say anything pro American ?" Fox News host Brian Kilmeade posted on X. "do u know any Iranians - ? they hate @fr_Khamenei they celebrate his death, you should be celebrating his death ! hes killed thousands of American’s and just killed 30k Iranians, did u even say a word about that? You are an embarrassment !! Please quit."

"I don’t feel safe in New York listening to someone like you, Mamdani, who sympathizes with the regime that killed more than 30,000 unarmed Iranians in less than 24 hours," Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad posted on X. 

"We Iranians do not allow you to lecture us about war while you had nothing to say when the Islamic Republic shot schoolgirls and blinded more than 10,000 innocent people in the streets. You were busy celebrating the hijab while women of my beloved country Iran were jailed and raped by Islamic Security forces for removing it.  And NOW you find your voice to defend the regime? No. I will not let you claim the moral high ground. The people of Iran want to be free. Where were you when they needed solidarity?"

"How is it that you can’t differentiate between good and evil?" Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted on X.

"Why is this so hard for you?"

"It takes a particular kind of audacity, or ignorance, for a city mayor to appoint himself the conscience of American foreign policy while his constituents step over garbage on their way to work," GOP Rep. Nancy Mace posted on X.

"History will not remember his bravery. It will not remember him at all."

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., urged Americans to “celebrate” the strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“That was just profound and incredible,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “This was one of the most evil people that ever lived, and after 37 years in Iran, he's been eliminated. I can't imagine why Democrats, Republicans, everyone can't celebrate that, because tens of millions of people in Iran are absolutely celebrating.”

Fetterman added that he is “proud to stand with the president” and Israel, calling the moment “historic.”

In the wake of U.S. strikes against Iran, the House Republicans’ X account, run by the office of House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., called on Democrats to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), reminding viewers of reports that the Biden administration had released almost 100 suspected terrorists into the country.

“REMINDER: Biden’s DHS released at least 99 individuals on the terror watchlist into the U.S.,” the post read, referencing a scathing report released by House Republicans in 2024.

“It is a dangerous dereliction of duty for Democrats to keep DHS closed right now. Our defenses must be up. Reopen DHS!”

The post comes amid a lapse in funding for DHS that began on Feb. 14 as lawmakers remain gridlocked over Democratic demands to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Democrats have said they won’t vote for DHS funding until Republicans agree to a set of 10 operational changes to ICE — reforms Republicans contend would handcuff President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Although ICE, which operates under DHS, has received funding through Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, other departments have been left without appropriations.

Notably, those departments include the Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “will not be mourned” following the news of his death in the U.S.-Israeli strikes.

“Ayatollah Khamenei was responsible for the regime’s ballistic missile program, support for armed proxies and its brutal acts of violence and intimidation against its own people,” Albanese said in a news conference in Sydney.

Noting that Khamenei had been responsible for orchestrating attacks on Australian soil, he said, “While we aren’t directly active in the current military strikes, we have been clear and active in our utter rejection of the brutal Iranian regime.”

He added that Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador last year, the first time that had been done in the island country since World War II.

“We have long recognized that Iran’s nuclear program is a threat to global peace and security,” he said. “With our national partners, including the United States and the G7, we have called for the Iranian regime to uphold the human rights and fundamental freedoms for Iran’s citizens.”

He said those called have “sadly” gone unheeded, “and action has now been taken.”

“We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran from continuing to threaten international peace and security,” he added.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed early Sunday it will launch its “most-intense offensive operation," beginning in "moments."

The threat came after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed Saturday morning in a targeted Israeli military strike in downtown Tehran.

“The most-intense offensive operation in the history of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will begin in moments, targeting (Israel) and American terrorists bases,” the IRGC wrote in a statement.

It is unclear which locations IRGC officials are allegedly targeting.

The X account of the deceased Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a cryptic message on Saturday afternoon, saying that some “among the faithful” had unfulfilled pledges to Allah after following joint U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting the regime.

“Among the faithful are men who fulfill what they have pledged to Allah: there are some among them who have fulfilled their pledge, and some of them who still wait and they have not changed in the least.”

Khamenei post references a passage from the Quran, describing how servants of Allah persist in the face of adversity.

The post follows Khamenei’s death earlier on Saturday as U.S. and Israel sought to eliminate the possibility of Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon.

The strikes came in the wake of failed talks between Washington and Tehran as Trump pressured Iran to commit to abandoning its pursuit of weapons-grade uranium.

In the hours since the strikes, Iran has launched attacks of its own, targeting U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.

The Iranian government announced the country would observe more than a month of public mourning following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed Saturday morning in an Israeli military strike in downtown Tehran.

The public mourning will last 40 days, according to Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news organization.

Following the Israeli military strike that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, a graffiti street artist who is known as the "anti-Banksy," debuted new artwork in Milan featuring President Donald Trump and a tombstone reading "Khamenei."

Artist aleXsandro Palombo's newest work praises U.S. military intervention in Iran, depicting Trump seated with his arms crossed atop a gravestone bearing "RIP Khamenei."

The president is portrayed wearing his iconic navy blue suit and red tie, in a frontal pose with a determined gaze.

A spokesperson for Palombo told Fox News Digital the work was conceived as a gesture of support for the uprisings of the Iranian population.

Palombo has previously dedicated his work to the Iranian people, creating the artwork "The Cut" in 2022 in front of the Iranian Consulate in Milan — dedicated to Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who was beaten and died in Iranian custody after not wearing a "proper" hijab in Tehran, according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

"The Cut" depicted Marge Simpson cutting Amini's hair and became a symbol of international protests, reproduced on signs and demonstration materials in numerous countries.

The artwork, shared by longtime Simpsons producer Carolyn Omine, was removed by consulate officials.

In November 2024, Palombo dedicated a piece titled "Freedom" to the story of Ahoo Daryaei, a 30-year-old Iranian doctoral student who was stopped by the morality police after a protest gesture on the Islamic Azad University of Tehran campus, where she undressed in opposition to the restrictions imposed by the regime.

Daryaei was transferred by authorities to a psychiatric facility.

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene didn’t hold back on Saturday, accusing President Donald Trump of not putting Americans first in the overnight strikes on Iran.

“Great Mr President. Good job,” Greene, who resigned from office in January, wrote sarcastically in a lengthy X post. “You’re a billionaire and the American people, not the Iranian people, who voted for you are not billionaires.”

She continued, “As a matter of fact many of them are flat out broke, in all time high credit card debt, can’t afford health insurance or car insurance for that matter, and most young people can’t afford to buy a house or even their rent payment. Your generation, the baby boomers, your families were able to thrive on single incomes and now that’s practically impossible for the vast majority of American families. Let alone, imagine being a single mother.”

She added that she assumed Trump’s “baby boomer” friends are the ones cheering his strikes on Iran the most.

“But us younger generations, Gen X (mine), Millennials, and especially Gen Z hate this f---ing bullshit,” the 51-year-old wrote. “Because we all know that in 10 years when the baby boomers that have been in charge of ALL of America’s disastrous decisions are retired or passed away, us younger generations will be left with no social security checks because it will have gone bankrupt, over $50 Trillion in debt, and a dollar that won’t be worth shit.”

She added, “We, as in YOU and me, campaigned on America First. And this is NOT it.”

In an earlier X post, Greene reminded the president that they had campaigned together on staying out of foreign wars and regime change.

“My generation has been let down, abused, and used by our government our entire adult lives and our children’s generation is literally being abandoned,” she wrote. “Thousands and thousands of Americans from my generation have been killed and injured in never ending pointless foreign wars and we said no more. But we are freeing the Iranian people.”

She added that there are 93 million people in Iran and they should “liberate themselves.”

She also questioned Trump’s claim that Iran is on the verge of getting nuclear weapons.

“It’s always a lie and it’s always America Last,” she said. “But it feels like the worst betrayal this time because it comes from the very man and the admin who we all believed was different and said no more.”

Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., posted an emotional message on Facebook following the joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran Saturday morning, remembering the 52 American hostages taken from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held for 444 days in 1979.

A group of 150 Iranian students stormed the fully staffed embassy Nov. 4, 1979, an attack supported by then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, whose protégé and successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a targeted Israeli military strike Saturday in downtown Tehran.

Former President Jimmy Carter was unable to secure the hostages' release, bolstering former President Ronald Reagan's campaign. They were released on Reagan's inauguration day.

"I was a freshman at LSU in 1979 when disgusting subhumans attacked American sovereign soil in Tehran, overwhelming a handful of our Marines, seizing our embassy and taking American hostages," Higgins wrote in the post. "We’ve been looking forward to today for 47 years. The perfect alignment of leaders at the top in America and Israel with real courage and unwavering will to do what has to be done."

"In the south, we give fair warning before we crack a jaw," he added. "I would say 46 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days is fair warning. Fly your flags America. HUA."

The Bill of Rights Institute contributed to this report.

Less than 24 hours after the U.S. and Israel launched a joint military operation against the Iranian regime, former Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement slamming President Donald Trump for the action.

In a statement posted on social media, Harris accused Trump of "dragging the United States into a war the American people do not want."

"Let me be clear: I am opposed to a regime-change war in Iran, and our troops are being put in harm’s way for the sake of Trump’s war of choice," Harris wrote. "This is a dangerous and unnecessary gamble with American lives that also jeopardizes stability in the region and our standing in the world. What we are witnessing is not strength. It is recklessness dressed up as resolve."

Harris, who no longer holds elected office, claimed she "know[s] the threat that Iran poses, and they must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon," but argued "this is not the way to dismantle that threat."

"During the campaign, Donald Trump promised to end wars rather than start them. It was a lie," she continued. "Then last year, he said 'we obliterated' Iran’s nuclear program. That, too, was a lie."

Trump's comments, as cited by the White House, were referencing the "monumental damage" inflicted during the June 22 U.S. strikes.

“Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!" Trump said. "The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level [at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant in Iran]. Bullseye!!!”

Harris went on to address potential American casualties, though she did not mention the thousands of Iranian protesters who have lost their lives at the hands of the regime.

"Doug and I will be praying for all of our brave servicemen and women, who we know are undertaking dangerous missions with exceptional skill, discipline, and precision," she wrote. "Our troops deserve a Commander-in-Chief who approaches decisions on matters of war and peace with the same steadiness and discipline our troops show every day."

"Under the Constitution of the United States, the President must receive authorization from Congress to enter a war. But even if he had, that does not change the fact this action is unwise, unjustified, and not supported by the American people," she added. "There can be no equivocation in our opposition to Donald Trump’s war of choice, and Congress must use all available power to prevent him from further committing us to this conflict. Our troops, our allies, and the American people deserve nothing less."

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said President Donald Trump had failed to outline how the U.S. would avoid an extended foreign entanglement as it launched a strike on Saturday morning that targeted the country's leadership and killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“What comes next is unclear because the Trump administration has not been able to articulate a plan to ensure that U.S. forces are not entangled in a forever war in the Middle East,” Jeffries said in an interview with NPR on Saturday.

“This notion of regime change has never been successful, as most recently indicated by its failure in Iraq, its failure in Libya and its failure in Afghanistan,” Jeffries added, listing areas of past U.S. intervention.

Jeffries comments come as Democrats have criticized the Trump Administration for, in their view, unilaterally taking the U.S. into a military conflict around the will of Congress.

Jeffries and other Democrats plan to force consideration of a resolution next week that would restrict Trump’s ability to take further military action against Iran without lawmaker consent.

“The resolution would require immediate termination of any additional military action absent the President making his case to the American people,” Jeffries said.

The U.S. has used tomahawks, HIMARS, standoff weapons and drones to strike Iran, a U.S. defense official told Fox News.

The official said the War Department employed Patriot missiles, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries, and ship-launched Standard Missiles (SM) for air defense.

Standoff weapons are munitions launched from an aircraft, ship or submarine far enough away from the target that they are out of reach from defensive enemy fire.

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.

Zayed International Airport in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait International Airport have been attacked amid the ongoing war with Iran, according to officials.

Zayed International Airport said authorities in Abu Dhabi are responding to an incident resulting from the interception of a drone that allegedly targeted Zayed International Airport.

The interception led to falling debris, which resulted in the death of an Asian national and seven injuries, according to airport officials.

Kuwait Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was seen in photos inspecting damage to the Kuwait International Airport and visiting those injured in the apparent attack at the Farwaniya Hospital.

It is unclear how many injuries or fatalities resulted from the Kuwait attack, though at least three people were pictured with the prime minister in hospital beds.

Fox News has also learned there was a reported attack at the Bahrain International Airport.

Additional details were not immediately released.