Iranian Supreme Leader Dead After Israel/U.S. Attack

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died following a major attack by Israel and the United States, Iranian state media confirmed early Sunday, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.  President Donald Trump announced the death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.  Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency did not report a cause of death for the 86-year-old.  “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump wrote in a social media post. He warned of “heavy and pinpoint bombing” that he said would continue throughout the week and even beyond, part of a lethal assault the U.S. has justified as necessary to disable the country’s nuclear capabilities.  The attack opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran, carried the potential for retaliatory violence and a wider war, and represented a startling flex of military might for an American president who swept into office on an “America First” platform and vowed to keep out of “forever wars.”  Iran, which responded to the strikes with its own counterassault, warned of retribution.  Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, said Saturday that Israel and America will “regret their actions.”  “The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,” Larijani posted on X.