Tehran — The Middle East is trembling on the edge of a wider war after a stunning joint U.S.–Israeli strike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shattering the country’s political center of gravity and triggering furious retaliation against American forces and Israel.

Iranian state television, its anchors dressed in black, confirmed Khamenei’s “martyrdom” in what it called a “cowardly act of aggression.” Moments later, the Revolutionary Guard announced the start of “Operation Endless Revenge,” launching waves of missiles and armed drones toward U.S. bases across the Gulf and strategic targets inside Israel.

Air‑raid sirens wailed from Tel Aviv to Haifa as Israel’s multi‑layered defenses lit up the night sky, intercepting incoming projectiles while some slipped through, causing fires and scattered casualties. In Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, American troops hunkered down in hardened shelters as blasts echoed near key airfields and logistics hubs. Washington has acknowledged “significant damage” at several sites, though officials insist core capabilities remain intact.

Inside Iran, massive crowds flooded the streets, both mourning their leader and demanding uncompromising vengeance. A hastily convened crisis council of senior clerics and generals has taken control, but the succession struggle already looms, adding volatility to an already explosive moment.

Global markets are sliding, oil prices are soaring and diplomats are scrambling. With the taboo of striking a sitting Supreme Leader broken and missiles now flying in both directions, analysts warn that unless an immediate diplomatic firebreak is imposed, the region may be entering not just another round of clashes, but a fundamentally new and far more dangerous era.