US, Israel attack Iran live: Khamenei killed, Tehran launches attacks

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it attacked the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf after the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed by US and Israeli air strikes.

“The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles,” the Guard said in a statement carried by local media, warning “the land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of the terrorist aggressors”.

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been operating in the Arabian Sea since the end of January.

There was no immediate confirmation of damage or casualties by the US military.

Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, says it will halt passage of cargo vessels through the Strait of Hormuz for “safety” reasons.

“We are suspending all vessel crossings in the Strait of Hormuz until further notice,” the Danish group said in an online advisory.

“The safety of our crews, vessels and customers’ cargo remains our key priority,” it said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard earlier announced the Strait’s closure.

Despite its narrow width, the channel accommodates the world’s largest crude carriers. Major Middle Eastern oil and gas exporters rely on it to move supplies to international markets while importing nations depend on its uninterrupted operation.

“This war cannot bring about any good result for the other side”, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has told Al Jazeera.

“There is no victory in this war. They have not been able to achieve their targets, and they will not be able to achieve their targets in the coming days. As long as they continue, they cannot achieve anything,” Araghchi said.

“This reminds me of the previous war – the 12-day war last June – when they expected that in two or three days Iran would capitulate and surrender. But it took 12 days for them to understand that Iran was not surrendering, and that they had no option but to ask for an unconditional ceasefire.

“I do not see any difference between this time and the previous time. We will resist as long as it takes, and they will see the result,” Araghchi said.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a “violation” of international law.

The “people of Pakistan join the people of Iran in their hour of grief and sorrow and extend the most sincere condolences on the martyrdom” of Khamenei, wrote Sharif on social media.

“Pakistan also expresses concern over violation of the norms of international law,” he added.

The Government and the people of Pakistan join the people of Iran in their hour of grief and sorrow and extend the most sincere condolences on the martyrdom of His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Ali
Khamenei.

Pakistan also expresses concern over violation of the norms of…

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) March 1, 2026

Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi, in his interview with Al Jazeera, has commented on the killing of Khamenei.

“It is absolutely unprecedented and a major violation of international law for a leader of another country to be assassinated by foreign forces. That would make this conflict – this war of aggression by the Americans against us – even more dangerous and more complicated, and it would perhaps add new aspects to it,” he told Al Jazeera.

“As you know, Ayatollah Khamenei was not only the political leader of Iran, but also a high-ranking religious leader for millions of Muslims, even outside of Iran, across the region.

“I’m sure you have seen the protests and demonstrations not only in cities across Iran, but also in Iraq, Pakistan, and some other places. It was very unfortunate for me to see that some of those demonstrators were shot and killed by the guards of the United States Consulate General in Karachi,” he said.

This is the highest casualty count [nine as of the latest update] since Israel started launching strikes on Iran on Saturday.

Beit Shemesh lies between western Jerusalem and Yafa. It’s a growing town and apparently strikes struck older homes built in previous years.

One of the shelters in the area seems to have also been impacted. What is worrying residents right now is that rescue workers are still working to rescue people trapped under the rubble so there are concerns and fear that this count may rise.

And there are questions as to why the sirens did not go off in Beit Shemesh.

This is one of the big risks that Israel is taking by initiating a war with Iran. Missiles continue to come to Israeli towns from Iran. Israel is having to fire defensive missiles in response and risks missing them like in Beit Shemesh and Tel Aviv.

A ship near the Strait of Hormuz has been attacked by an “unknown projectile”, the maritime agency UKMTO says.

A vessel northwest of Mina Saqr in the United Arab Emirates caught fire after the strike.

“The fire has been extinguished and the vessel intends to continue its voyage,” a UKMTO statement said, adding authorities are investigating.

It is the third attack on shipping the ⁠agency reported today after ⁠an earlier incident north of Oman’s capital Muscat, in the Strait of Hormuz, and off of Oman’s Kumzar.

UKMTO WARNING 006-26

Click here to view the full Advisory⤵️ https://t.co/OOOP5zFeB0#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/0bIF8zfyEe

— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) March 1, 2026

Israel has intercepted an Iranian missile over Syria, an unnamed Interior Ministry source told AFP news agency, causing a loud explosion that could be heard across the capital, Damascus.

AFP journalists based in Damascus reported hearing a blast.

We are now getting reports that nine people in Israel have been killed by an Iranian ballistic missile impact in Beit Shemesh, the Magen David Adom ambulance says.