₦airaland Forum

The Qatari Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday that its forces downed two Sukhoi Su-24s, Soviet-era bombers.

The intensity of the attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences. Safe havens in the Mideast like Dubai have seen incoming fire; hundreds of thousands of airline passengers are stranded around the globe; oil prices shot up; and U.S. allies pledged to help stop Iranian missiles and drones.

Iran has long threatened, if attacked, to drag the region into total war, including targeting Israel, the Gulf Arab states and the flow of crude oil crucial for global energy markets. All of these came under attack on Monday.

The chaos of the conflict became apparent when the U.S. military said Kuwait had “mistakenly shot down” three American F-15E Strike Eagles while Iran was attacking with aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones. U.S. Central Command said all six pilots ejected safely and are in stable condition.

Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian missile sites and targeted its navy, claiming to have destroyed its headquarters and multiple warships. As several airstrikes hit Iran’s capital of Tehran, the top security official Ali Larijani vowed on X: “We will not negotiate with the United States.”

The death toll grew on all sides. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said that the U.S.-Israeli operation has killed at least 555 people. In Israel, where several locations were hit by Iranian missiles, 11 people were killed. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group also targeted Israel, which responded with strikes on Lebanon, killing more than two dozen people. Meanwhile, four American troops have been killed, and three people were reported killed in the United Arab Emirates and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.

In Kuwait City, fire and smoke rose from inside the U.S. Embassy compound, shortly after the U.S. issued a warning to Americans to take cover and stay away from the complex. There were no immediate reports on damage or casualties.

Iran expands attacks to regional oil infrastructure
With world markets already rattled by the fighting, QatarEnergy said it would stop its production of liquefied natural gas, taking one of the world’s top suppliers off the market. It offered no timeline for restoring its production. European natural gas prices surged by 40% in response.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery came under attack from drones, with defenses downing the incoming aircraft, a military spokesman told the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The refinery has a capacity of over half a million barrels of crude oil a day.

A drone also targeted an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, killing one mariner, the sultanate said, while debris fell on an oil refinery in Kuwait.

Several ships have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil trade passes and where Iran has threatened attacks.

“The attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran’s sights,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. “An extended period of uncertainty lies ahead.”

The region is also a hub for air travel, and passengers have been stranded around the world as carriers based in the Gulf grounded flights. Long-haul carriers Etihad and Emirates restarted limited flights Monday.

Iran says nuclear site was targeted
Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters that airstrikes targeted the Natanz nuclear enrichment site on Sunday.

“Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie,” he said.

Israel and the U.S. have not acknowledged strikes at the site, which the U.S. bombed in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June. Israel has said that it is targeting the “leadership and nuclear infrastructure.”

Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its right to do so while saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.

Iran’s government news outlet said Monday that Tehran’s Golestan Palace, a UNESCO-listed heritage site, was damaged in U.S.–Israeli strikes on Sunday

Hezbollah fires on Israel, prompting massive response
Hezbollah said it fired missiles on Israel early Monday in response to Khamenei’s killing and “repeated Israeli aggressions.” It was the first time in more than a year that the militant group has claimed an attack.

There were no reports of injuries or damage.

Israel retaliated with strikes on Lebanon, killing at least 31 people and wounding 149 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Associated Press journalists in Beirut were jolted awake by loud explosions that shook buildings and shattered windows.

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army chief of staff, said the military would not end its offensive against Hezbollah “before the threat from Lebanon is eliminated.”

“We will end this campaign with not just Iran being struck but with Hezbollah suffering a devastating blow,” he said.

Rescue services in Israel said several locations have been hit by Iranian missiles, including Jerusalem and a synagogue in Beit Shemesh. In all, 11 people have been killed.

Iran’s proxies were a chief concern for American and Israeli officials before they moved ahead with strikes over the weekend.

The Iraqi Shiite militia Saraya Awliya al-Dam claimed a drone attack Monday targeting U.S. troops at the airport in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. It claimed another drone attack on Sunday against a U.S. air base in Iraq’s north.

No end in sight to the US-Israeli campaign
The U.S. military said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. President Donald Trump said on social media that nine Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy’s headquarters had been “largely destroyed.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that the U.S. is not engaged in a nation-building effort in Iran, and there is a clear mission. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” Hegseth said.

He didn’t give specifics when asked about the ultimate goals of the operation, how long it might last or what success would look like, saying doing so would disadvantage U.S. forces.

It’s not completely clear what the U.S. objectives are. In announcing the initial strikes, Trump referred to the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. But he also listed various grievances dating back to Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and urged Iranians to “take over” their government.

There have been no signs yet of any such uprising.

The American leader, however, has also signaled he would be open to dialogue with Iran’s new leadership — which could be chosen soon.

In an indication that the conflict could draw in other nations, Britain, France and Germany said Sunday they were ready to work with the U.S. to help stop Iran’s attacks.

Early Monday, Cyprus said a drone “caused limited damage” when it hit a British air base there.

Tehran’s streets are deserted
Tehran’s streets have been largely deserted with people sheltering during airstrikes. The paramilitary Basij force, which has played a central role in crushing recent nationwide protests, set up checkpoints across the city, according to witnesses.

In the northern Iranian city of Babol, a student, speaking anonymously over concerns of retribution, told the AP that armed riot police were on the streets Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday after the death of Khamenei.

Chucks13:
Pls how many unexploded bomb seen after Sokoto air strike, drop the pictures I want to see it?

Pls don't talk for the sake of talking think before you talk ok, over 48 Iranian leaders perished including almighty Ayatollah, his wife and a ex president and you are here typing rubbish. Who is more embarrassed here is it US or Iran who over 48 powerful people in Iran perished in just one strike?

Botragelad:
Iran thinks its rusty Soviet-era junk will shield it.
Nah, keep pounding until the Islamic regime finally crumbles.
No mercy for these mullah terrorists.

HacheNoire:
They will collect new rounds of hypersonics!

Trusting Iran to deliver! They frying anything now🤣😂🤣😂

LordBiden:
You call them terrorists but they see themselves as freedom fighters who do not want western dominance.

Botragelad:
The way Ali Khameini got fried within hours? Or Iran bases getting fried right now? 😂😂😂

HacheNoire:
Your TV is telling you lies. Replace it!

Even those getting it back to back are not denying it, but you on Nairaland celebrating fiction.

You killed a 86year old man in his office and you so happy. Who is crying now. Be patient. Israel will still be the number one destination for scrap metals.

Botragelad:
You call murdering protesters begging for a decent life "freedom fighters"?
Slaughtering women for not wearing a hijab is "freedom fighting"?

That's the Islamic logic they put into heads at mosques?
Call it what it is: barbaric oppression.

YeyeGbami:
Wars are interesting, it distracts everybody from the real thingy

allen113:
U sure say all the bombs US dey drop dey detonate? We saw how they embarrassed themselves in northern Nigeria. No dead body of terrorist was seen but unexploded bombs were seen everywhere. Anyways make we just dey observe.

Let the fight continue for one month so that we fit sell our oil for profit after all we import most things from China and they are not at war.

allen113:
U sure say all the bombs US dey drop dey detonate? We saw how they embarrassed themselves in northern Nigeria. No dead body of terrorist was seen but unexploded bombs were seen everywhere. Anyways make we just dey observe.

Let the fight continue for one month so that we fit sell our oil for profit after all we import most things from China and they are not at war.

HacheNoire:
They will collect new rounds of hypersonics!

Trusting Iran to deliver! They frying anything now🤣😂🤣😂

HacheNoire:
They will collect new rounds of hypersonics!

Trusting Iran to deliver! They frying anything now🤣😂🤣😂

HacheNoire:
Your TV is telling you lies. Replace it!

Even those getting it back to back are not denying it, but you on Nairaland celebrating fiction.

You killed a 86year old man in his office and you so happy. Who is crying now. Be patient. Israel will still be the number one destination for scrap metals.

HacheNoire:
They will collect new rounds of hypersonics!

Trusting Iran to deliver! They frying anything now🤣😂🤣😂

allen113:
U sure say all the bombs US dey drop dey detonate? We saw how they embarrassed themselves in northern Nigeria. No dead body of terrorist was seen but unexploded bombs were seen everywhere. Anyways make we just dey observe.

Let the fight continue for one month so that we fit sell our oil for profit after all we import most things from China and they are not at war.