Israel hits central Tehran amid Iran retaliation threat after Khamenei killing

Amidst escalating conflict in the Middle East, a huge explosion rocked Iran's capital, Tehran, on Sunday as the Israeli military hit the heart of the city.

The Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran, which is home to the country's police headquarters and Iranian state television.

The explosion in Iran’s capital sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. However, it wasn't clear what the target was.

Iran vows retaliation

Earlier, the Islamic Republic launched missiles at several targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states. It has vowed massive retaliation for the killing of the nation’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, by the United States and Israel. He was killed in a joint Israeli-American airstrike on Saturday at his Tehran office.

Iran's Cabinet has vowed that this "great crime will never go unanswered", and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its "most intense offensive operation" ever, targeting Israeli and American bases.

"You have crossed our red line and must pay the price," Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address Sunday.

"We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg."

Trump Warns Any Retaliation Would Lead to Further Escalation

In response, US President Donald Trump warned that any retaliation by Iran would only lead to further escalation.

“THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT,” Trump said in a social media post.

“IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

As Israel and the US expanded their targeting of high-ranking officials, an aerial strike on a session of the national defence council claimed the lives of Iran’s army chief of staff and its defence minister. The attack also killed the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a primary security consultant to Khamenei.

General Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defence Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh perished in the strike, alongside Major General Mohammad Pakpour, who had assumed leadership of the Guard after his predecessor was killed during last June’s 12-day conflict.

The deceased advisor, Ali Shamkhani, had been a long-standing pillar of the Iranian security apparatus.

Demonstrating the rapid spread of regional instability, hundreds of Shiite Muslims in the Pakistani port of Karachi stormed the US Consulate on Sunday, resulting in shattered windows and violent confrontations.

Security forces utilised batons and tear gas to repel the mob, according to police official Mohammad Jawad. Authorities reported at least nine fatalities during these clashes.

In the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Oman reported that an oil tanker was intercepted and attacked, leaving four crew members injured. The state-run Oman News Agency identified the vessel as the Palau-flagged Skylight and said the crew consisted of Indian and Iranian nationals. While the identity of the attackers remains unconfirmed, the incident coincides with reports of Iran using radio transmissions to threaten shipping in the strait since the joint US-Israeli strikes began.