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MultiChoice announces plans to discontinue Showmax streaming service

MultiChoice Group says it plans to discontinue Showmax, it’s streaming platform, as part of a broader review of its digital strategy.

The development comes five months after Canal+ Group, a French TV channel, tookover MultiChoice, the South African pay-TV operator.

In a message to customers dated March 5, the company said the decision to stop operations was taken after a “comprehensive review” by the board, noting that the move is aimed at strengthening its overall digital offering.

“Following a comprehensive review, the Showmax Board has taken the decision to discontinue the Showmax service in the near future,” the company said.

MultiChoice added that the decision reflects its focus on ensuring “long-term sustainability in an increasingly competitive streaming environment”.

The company, however, said the streaming platform will continue to operate for now and that subscribers will experience no immediate disruption.

“Importantly, at the moment there will be no interruption to your current service. You can continue streaming as usual, and no action is required from you at this time,” the notice reads.

“Importantly, at the moment there will be no interruption to your current service. You can continue streaming as usual, and no action is required from you at this time,” the notice reads.

MultiChoice said further details on the shutdown timeline and transition plans will be communicated to subscribers ahead of any changes.

“We understand that this news may raise questions. Showmax subscribers are a priority for us, and we are working on plans to ensure clear communication and a smooth transition when the time comes,” the company said.

“We will share further details well in advance, including timelines and any future steps, should they be required.”

The company also reiterated that streaming remains a central part of its strategy, adding that it will continue investing in content, technology, and partnerships.

“Streaming remains central to our strategy. We will continue to invest in premium content, technology innovation and partnerships to deliver the best possible entertainment experience to our customers,” MultiChoice said.

Showmax, a subscription video-on-demand platform, was launched in South Africa in August 2015 by MultiChoice.

The streaming platform was set up to compete with global streaming services and respond to growing demand for online entertainment.

Showmax offers movies, series and documentaries streamed over the internet rather than through scheduled television. (TheCable)

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India and Canada reset ties with ‘landmark’ nuclear energy deal

India and Canada have announced a host of agreements, including a 10-year nuclear energy deal, after their prime ministers met in Delhi to reset ties that plummeted due to diplomatic tensions.

Narendra Modi and Mark Carney also struck agreement in areas such as technology, critical minerals, space, defence and education.

Carney said they agreed to conclude a free trade deal, years in the making, by the end of 2026. Both countries want to reduce exposure to punitive US trade tariffs.

Under Carney, the two governments are trying to repair ties that were strained when his predecessor accused Delhi of a link to the 2023 assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

India vociferously rejected the allegation by Justin Trudeau.

Trade and diplomatic relations almost came to a standstill as both sides expelled each other’s diplomats and cancelled visa services. Canada hosts a huge expatriate Indian community.

But since Carney took office last year, the relationship has been cautiously rebuilt —helped by the fact that his government has said it believes India is not currently linked to violent crimes or threats on Canadian soil.

Some in Canada have countered that claim, however, including a Liberal MP from Carney’s own party and members of the Sikh diaspora in Canada, who say they believe they continue to be targeted by India.

Canada’s spy agency listed India late last year as one of the countries carrying out espionage and foreign interference in the country, along with Russia, China and Iran.

In a statement on Monday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said its “threat assessment of the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada has not changed”.

Canada’s foreign minister Anita Anand has distanced herself from comments made by a senior Canadian official saying that India had ceased all foreign interference in Canada.

“The words of the senior official are not words that I personally would use,” she told reporters in Delhi after Carney’s meeting with Modi on Monday.

But Anand defended Canada’s decision to re-engage with India, saying “we need to have these diplomatic conversations in order to make progress”.

Carney has not yet spoken to Canadian reporters since his trip began. His office cancelled a planned news conference following the meeting with Modi, citing his tight schedule.

The case of four men charged over Nijjar’s killing is still before the courts.

At talks in Delhi, both Carney and Modi underscored India and Canada’s long-standing relationship, mutual goals and close people-to-people ties.

“In civil nuclear energy, we have reached a landmark deal for long-term uranium supply. We will also work together on small modular reactors and advanced reactors,” Modi told reporters after their meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi.

He described the two countries as “natural partners in technology and innovation” and said they would enhance co-operation in AI, supercomputing and semiconductors, as well as jointly host a renewable energy summit.

Carney said Canada was well positioned to contribute to energy-hungry India’s nuclear fuel needs and added that the two countries were launching a strategic energy partnership.

He hailed the progress made in rebuilding relations.

“There has been more engagement between the Canadian and Indian governments in the last year than there has been in more than two decades combined,” he said.

On trade, Modi said: “Our target is to reach $50bn in bilateral trade. This is why we have decided to finalise a comprehensive economic partnership soon.”

Carney said he wanted to reach a deal on the “ambitious agreement” by the end of the year. It’s been discussed on-and-off for the past 15 years so concluding it would be a significant achievement.

Analysts say that Carney’s decision to put diplomatic tensions behind him and extend an olive branch to India is a pragmatic one, based on present day geopolitical shifts.

The same holds true for India, which is looking to forge new trade partnerships to diversify its imports and also reduce its reliance on Russia for its energy needs.

Surveys suggest a majority of the Canadian public support re-engaging with India. One recent poll conducted by Angus Reid found that half believe it is the “right time” to restore ties.

The poll also suggests that more Canadians have a favourable view of India (30%) than of the US (26%), as Canada continues to be squeezed by tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Earlier on Monday, Carney met India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar where the two discussed charting a “forward-looking partnership”.

Carney’s four-day trip began with a visit to the financial capital, Mumbai, where he met business leaders and ministers on 28 February with a view to boost trade and investment in India.

After concluding his trip in Delhi, Carney is set to travel to Australia and then Japan as part of his strategy to diversify Canada’s trade and invite new investments. (BBC)

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Texas authorities identify Austin bar shooting victims

Authorities have identified the three people fatally shot outside a bar in Austin, Texas when a gunman opened fire in the early hours of Sunday.

Ryder Harrington, 19, and Savitha Shan, 21, died in the shooting outside a bar popular with University of Texas students, police said. Authorities announced on Monday that third victim, Jorge Pederson, 30, had also died.

More than a dozen people were injured in the shooting, including some who remain in critical condition.

The alleged gunman, Ndiaga Diagne, was shot and killed by police. The FBI said it was looking into a potential “nexus of terrorism” link to the war in Iran, among other possibilities.

After responding to calls of an active shooter at around 02:00 local time (08:00 GMT) on Sunday near Buford’s bar in Austin, police said they shot and killed the suspect.

Diagne was a naturalised American citizen born in Senegal, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.

Officials said two of the victims were students but could not yet confirm which university they attended.

“We recognise that this is a very traumatic moment in our city,” Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said in briefing on Monday, adding: “I cannot imagine the grief, pain and loss these families are feeling today, and my heart is with them.”

Two sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the gunman was wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Property of Allah”.

CBS was also told by an official with knowledge of the investigation that officers who searched the gunman’s home found an Iranian flag and pictures of Iranian leaders.

The attack came on the weekend that the US and its ally Israel launched multiple strikes on Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said federal and state officials would investigate whether the violence had any connections to terrorism.

“We will not rest until every last trail or piece of information is pursued to determine if there’s anybody else involved in this whatsoever,” the governor said in a news briefing on Monday.

“And if so, obviously, we will track them down, find them, and bring them to justice.”

In an earlier briefing, Police Chief Davis said officers who were on patrol in the more popular, crowded bar district known as East Sixth Street quickly responded to reports of a man with a gun at Buford’s, located farther down on West Sixth Street.

She said a man in a large SUV driving by Buford’s put on the vehicle’s hazard lights, rolled down his window and fired a pistol, striking people on the patio and pavement outside the bar.

He parked the vehicle nearby, got out with a rifle and started walking back towards the bar, according to Davis. Three police officers confronted the suspect at an intersection, and shot and killed him.

The SUV was searched and was not carrying explosives, officials said.

However, Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran, from the FBI’s San Antonio office, said there were indications in the SUV and on the suspect that suggested a “nexus to terrorism”.

But Doran said the investigation was in its early stages and he was “not prepared to release those details”.

“We are committed to seeing this process through to the very end,” he said.

Kelson Lee, 25, was within earshot when gunfire erupted at Buford’s. He walked inside to look for a friend, according to the Austin Current.

“I see about seven to eight bodies on the floor,” Lee told the local news outlet. “No-one should ever have to see that.

“I kind of blacked out, froze up. I felt kind of helpless because I wanted to help people.” (BBC)

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Real Madrid 2-1 Benfica (Agg 3-1): Vinicius Jnr the difference maker as Real make last 16

Aurelien Tchouameni believes Real Madrid’s 2-1 win against Benfica to seal a 3-1 win on aggregate in the Champions League knock-out play-offs was a “victory for everyone who stands against racism”.

Vinicius Junior scored the decisive goal to send Madrid into the last 16 of the competition, just eight days after he was allegedly racially abused by Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni in the first leg of the tie.

“This is a victory for everyone who stands against racism,” midfielder Tchouameni said after the victory.

“Many things, I think there are more important things than the match, than football.

“Vinicius keeps his confidence and keeps focused on what he needs to do.”

Prestianni was suspended for the fixture but travelled with the squad to Madrid. The club denied the allegations and Benfica president Rui Costa claimed they would not “permit a racist player within the squad”.

Real fans held up banners with messages of support for Vinicius – who had scored the only goal in Lisbon – before kick-off at the Santiago Bernabeu.

And as the players took to the field, the messages – “No to racism” and “Respect” – were read out.

Benfica made the perfect start, levelling the tie after 14 minutes through Rafa Silva, but Aurelien Tchouameni put Madrid back in charge with a powerful strike from distance.

But the defining moment belonged to Vinicius, who scampered through on goal to seal the deal for the hosts with 10 minutes remaining. He wheeled away in celebration, soaking in the roar from the home support with a dance by the corner flag – a goal that effectively ended the contest and carried emotional weight and significance.

UEFA had imposed a provisional sanction on Prestianni on Monday, ruling him out of the tie, although the Argentinian winger had travelled to Madrid as part of the Benfica squad.

Benfica had appealed against the decision to ban Prestianni, but UEFA dismissed the Portuguese club’s case on Wednesday afternoon.

“Mr Gianluca Prestianni remains provisionally suspended for the next UEFA club competition match for which he would otherwise be eligible,” a UEFA statement read.

UEFA appointed an ethics and disciplinary investigator (EDI) following the first leg and made a swift decision.

UEFA said on Monday the imposition of a provisional suspension was “without prejudice to any ruling that the UEFA disciplinary bodies may subsequently make following the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and its respective submission to the UEFA disciplinary bodies”.

The Brazilian left the field and refused to return, resulting in a stoppage in play that lasted 10 minutes of last Tuesday’s first leg.

It came after Vinicius had given his team the lead with a wonderful individual strike, curling the ball home from a tight angle five minutes into the second half.

After celebrating in front of the home fans, he became suddenly and visibly upset about something said to him and immediately informed the referee, who stopped the match.

Benfica boss Jose Mourinho, who was roundly criticised for his comments about the incident after the game, did not conduct the usual pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

Mourinho appeared to intimate after the first leg that the winger had brought any abuse upon himself with his celebration and said that “a stadium where Vinicius plays, something happens, always”.

Anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out responded by accusing Mourinho of “gaslighting”.

Mourinho was expected to watch the second leg from the stands after being sent off in Lisbon for angrily shouting towards referee Francois Letexier.

Real will play either Sporting Lisbon or Manchester City in the last 16 when the draw is made from 11am on Friday. (SkySports)

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Actor awards 2026: Michael B Jordan, Jessie Buckley and Catherine O’Hara among big winners

Michael B Jordan, Jessie Buckley and the late Catherine O’Hara were among the big winners at this year’s newly titled Actor awards.

Previously known as the Screen Actors Guild awards, the Actors are voted on by a membership of more than 160,000 actors. The name change was to provide “clearer recognition in terms of what the show is about”.

Jordan beat out the hotly predicted favourite Timothée Chalamet for the best lead male actor award, for his dual role in acclaimed vampire thriller Sinners. Jordan paid tribute to director and longtime collaborator Ryan Coogler, and the “love and support” from the many actors in the room who watched him grow up in the spotlight. This weekend also saw Jordan pick up the NAACP image award for entertainer and actor of the year.

The big screen ensemble award went to the cast of Sinners, also including Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku. “This project is anointed and from that standpoint, we’re all anointed to be part of this incredible journey,” Lindo said on behalf of the cast.

Buckley followed her wins at the Baftas and Golden Globes with another best lead female actor award for her performance in Chloé Zhao’s semi-fictionalised period drama Hamnet, beating Emma Stone and Rose Byrne. “I have been categorically changed by so many people in this room and beyond,” she said on stage.

Sean Penn was named best supporting male actor for his performance in One Battle After Another after also winning the Bafta last weekend. The actor was not at the ceremony to accept his award.

Weapons villain Amy Madigan enjoyed a surprise victory, beating favourite Teyana Taylor to take home the award for supporting female actor. “It’s such an honour to be here, I’ve been doing this for a long ass time,” she said, adding: “As you can tell, I’m nervous and overwhelmed and just so happy.”

After major wins at the Emmys and Golden Globes, Apple’s freshman industry series The Studio also dominated tonight’s comedy trophies. It picked up three awards, including a win for comedy ensemble against competition from previous winners The Bear and Only Murders in the Building.

The Studio’s co-creator Seth Rogen was also named best male actor for his role in the show, beating co-star Ike Barinholtz, while the late Catherine O’Hara, who died in January this year, was given a rare posthumous award for her performance.

Rogen collected on her behalf to a standing ovation from the audience, calling it a “very sad honour”.

“I know she would have been honoured to receive this award from her fellow performers,” he said, praising her “ability to be generous and kind and gracious while never ever minimising her own talents and her own ability to contribute to the work she was doing”.

The drama ensemble award was given to the cast of breakout medical drama The Pitt, beating The White Lotus and Severence. “I’ve never been more proud of a group of people in my life,” star Noah Wyle said. “We’re so grateful for this, I can’t even tell you.”

Wyle, who had previously won with the ensemble of ER four times in the 1990s, was also named best male actor in a drama series and used his speech to praise the work of labour unions.

Netflix’s smash hit drama Adolescence continued its impressive awards run, with a win for Owen Cooper as best male actor in a limited series. At 16, he’s become the youngest ever winner in this category, after Emmy and Golden Globe wins. The actor, who recently appeared in Wuthering Heights, wasn’t in attendance to accept.

Michelle Williams beat Cooper’s co-star Erin Doherty to win best female actor in a limited series for her role in acclaimed comedy drama Dying for Sex, her second Actor award after winning for Fosse/Verdon in 2020. Doherty had already won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her performance.

The Diplomat’s Keri Russell was a surprise first-time winner of the female actor in a drama series award, beating Pluribus’s Rhea Seehorn and The White Lotus actors Parker Posey and Aimee Lou Wood.

Harrison Ford was the recipient of this year’s life achievement award, presented to him by Woody Harrelson who called him “a true renaissance man” in his introduction.

“I feel incredibly grateful for this kind attention but to be clear, I’m also quite humbled,” Ford said onstage, joking that it was a prize for “being alive”. He later added, in an emotive speech, that he sees himself as “a lucky guy – lucky to have found my people, lucky to have work that challenges me, lucky to still be doing it and I don’t take that for granted.”

The year’s stunt ensemble awards were won by Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and The Last of Us.

The ceremony, which aired live on Netflix, was hosted by Nobody Wants This actor Kristen Bell, who kicked the night off by saying: “I think the world could use some levity right now so we’re gonna keep things fun tonight.”

The night was light on political speeches but on the red carpet, wearing an “ICE out” pin, Wunmi Mosaku called ICE “atrocious”. “I don’t believe in what this administration is inflicting on the people in this country,” she said.

Later in the evening, Sag-Aftra president and Lord of the Rings actor Sean Astin offered “a sincere prayer for peace” on behalf of the acting community.

Last year’s winners included Timothée Chalamet, Demi Moore, Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldana for film and Anna Sawai, Jessica Gunning, Jean Smart and Colin Farrell for television. (Guardian)

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Bill Clinton grilled by House in Epstein deposition

Former President Bill Clinton denied wrongdoing in his relationship with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein as House Republicans grilled him on Feb. 27 about the late financier’s fundraising, numerous visits to the White House and pictures in Justice Department files.

Clinton, the first former president forced to testify before Congress, told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in his opening statement that he “had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing.” He dismissed the 20-year-old pictures from the department’s files and Epstein’s estate.

“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” Clinton said. “As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing – I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals.”

Upon exiting the session, Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, said questioning the former president was “very productive” while declining to elaborate.

“You’ll see the video. … Everybody knows President Clinton. He’s got Southern people skills; he’s a charming individual,” the congressman said. “We picked up new facts; we asked the Clintons where we should go from here.”

The former president’s deposition at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, near the Clintons’ home in suburban New York, comes just a day after his wife and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified. The former first lady, who was also subpoenaed, told the committee on Feb. 26 she didn’t know Epstein and never flew on his plane. She called her deposition “repetitive” and a “fishing expedition.”

Video of the depositions will be released “within the next 24 hours,” Comer suggested.

GOP committee members said they have questions for the former first couple because Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was president and then Clinton traveled 27 times on his private plane after leaving office. Clinton also appeared in a number of pictures released in the Epstein files with celebrities or in more casual surroundings with the faces of women redacted.

Comer said documents from the Justice Department and Epstein’s estate portray the late financier as raising money for the Clinton Global Initiative, a foundation seeking action on issues such as the climate and health care. Hillary Clinton told the committee Feb. 26 to ask her husband about it because she was a senator during the period in question.

“This is a historical day for the United States Congress,” Comer said. “Nobody is accusing anyone of any wrongdoing. But I think the American people have a lot of questions.”

The inquiry comes as lawmakers and women who accused Epstein of abuse have forced the Justice Department to released 3 million pages of documents about his criminal investigation. But millions more pages remain sealed, and President Donald Trump has said the country should move on.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of child sex trafficking. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison term for conspiring to transport minors for illicit sex. Critics of the investigation have questioned why more coconspirators haven’t been charged. (USAToday)

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President of Iran’s soccer federation says World Cup participation in US is in doubt

The president of Iran’s soccer federation says he does not know if the national team can play World Cup matches in the United States following the surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment of his country.

“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Mehdi Taj told sports portal Varzesh3 as Iran traded strikes with Israel as part of a widening war prompted by the bombardment.

The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran continued for a second day on Sunday after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threw the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raised the risk of regional instability.

Iran has been drawn in Group G at the World Cup and is scheduled to play in Los Angeles – where it faces New Zealand and Belgium on June 15 and 21, respectively – before it plays Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

The United States is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11-July 19.

Fans from Iran were already banned from entering the U.S. in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.

FIFA did not immediately reply to an email from The Associated Press over the current situation regarding Iran’s participation in the World Cup. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal passes latest test to go 5 points clear at top of Premier League

Arsenal passed the latest test of its Premier League title credentials with a crucial 2-1 win against Chelsea on Sunday, and Manchester United climbed up to third by beating Crystal Palace 2-1 to boost its pursuit of a return to the Champions League.

Jurrien Timber’s second-half goal saw Arsenal re-establish a five-point lead over second-place Manchester City after Pep Guardiola’s team kept the pressure on at the top by beating Leeds on Saturday.

Victory against Chelsea saw Arsenal overcome another of its major rivals and move a step closer to a first league title since 2004. It leaves the visit to City next month as potentially the last major hurdle for Mikel Arteta’s team, which has no other games against the rest of the current top seven in the standings.

“We have the feeling that we have to win and win and win. You win so many games, but it is not enough to open the gap. That is the level of this league,” Arteta said.

Benjamin Sesko’s seventh goal in eight games sealed victory for United against Palace and moved it above Aston Villa in third on goal difference.

At the other end of the standings, Tottenham’s winless run extended to 10 games after a 2-1 loss at Fulham — leaving it mired in a fight to avoid relegation. Nottingham Forest also failed to pull further away from the drop zone after a 2-1 loss at Brighton.

Arsenal had to respond after City closed the gap to two points a day earlier. And if Arsenal goes on to claim the title, it may well look back on this win as a decisive moment.

Even when down to 10 men, after Pedro Neto was sent off in the second half, Chelsea pushed deep into added time for an equalizer.

David Raya produced a stunning save to push Alejandro Garnacho’s goalbound cross away as the seconds ran down at the Emirates. And the home fans breathed a sigh of relief when Liam Delap’s goal was ruled out for offside in the dying moments.

In the end, Arsenal’s threat from set pieces proved the difference again. William Saliba put the home team in front, converting from a corner after 21 minutes.

And after Piero Hincapie’s own-goal got Chelsea back into the game in first-half added time, Timber headed in from another corner in the 66th.

With 16 goals from corners this season, Arsenal has tied the record for a Premier League season, according to stats provider Opta.

“It feels like a big result,” United captain Bruno Fernandes said after his team beat Palace.

United’s latest win boosted its push for a return to the Champions League and further strengthened Michael Carrick’s credentials to be given the coach’s job on a long-term basis.

He remains unbeaten since being given a contract to the end of the season in January, with a record of six wins in seven games. His cause may also have been helped after overcoming a Palace team coached by Oliver Glasner, who was one of the early favorites to get the job when United fired Ruben Amorim at the start of the year.

Over two spells as United coach, Carrick has picked up 23 points from nine games. Opta said it was the joint highest points total for a manager after his first nine games in the league’s history — equaling Ange Postecoglou’s start at Tottenham.

“This place means a lot to me so to have the sort of positivity and everyone enjoying going to the games and watching it and for me to have an influence on that, I’m not going to lie, it feels good,” Carrick said. (JapanToday)

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Israel hits Tehran again; 3 U.S. service personnel killed in Iran attacks

Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran on Sunday and Iran responded with more missile barrages, a day after the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pitched the Middle East and the ‌global economy into deepening uncertainty.

Iran fired renewed missile barrages across the region. Israel’s ambulance service said nine people were killed in the town of Beit Shemesh, while the United Arab Emirates said Iranian attacks killed three people and Kuwait reported one dead.

Three U.S. service personnel were also killed and five seriously wounded, the first American casualties of the operation, the U.S. military said, without giving further information.

U.S. and Israeli strikes – and Iranian retaliation – sent shockwaves through sectors from shipping to air travel to oil, amid warnings of rising energy costs and disruption to business in the Gulf, a strategic waterway and global trade hub.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said the attack was intended to ensure Iran could not have a nuclear weapon, to contain its missile program and to eliminate threats to the United States and its allies.

In an interview with ‌the Atlantic magazine on Sunday, Trump, who has encouraged the Iranian people to topple their government, said Iran’s leadership wanted to talk to him ⁠and he had agreed.

But he has yet to lay out his longer-term aims in Iran, which faces a power vacuum that could leave it in ⁠chaos, with unforeseeable consequences for the region.

Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

As the ⁠first U.S. casualties were reported, and with the vital Strait of Hormuz closed and the glittering Gulf cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha under bombardment, the scale of the risk taken by ‌Trump in launching the attack was becoming clearer.

Only around one in four Americans approve of the operation, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Sunday, and if Hormuz, which is the passage for about ⁠20% of world oil supplies, remains closed for more than a few days, squeezed U.S. consumers will start to ⁠feel the pressure on prices at the pumps, months before vital midterm elections.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday they had hit three U.S. and UK oil tankers in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and attacked military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain with drones and missiles. Shipping data showed hundreds of vessels including oil and gas tankers dropping anchor in nearby waters with traders expecting sharp jumps in crude oil prices on Monday.

Global air travel was also heavily disrupted as continued air strikes kept major Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai – ⁠the world’s busiest international hub – closed in one of the biggest aviation interruptions in recent years.

In Iran, facing its biggest existential challenge since the 1980-88 war with Iraq, President Masoud Pezeshkian said a leadership ⁠council composed of himself, the judiciary head and a member of the ‌powerful Guardians Council had temporarily assumed the duties of Supreme Leader.

Oman’s foreign ministry said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had indicated that Tehran was open to any serious efforts at de-escalation.

But it remained unclear what the longer-term prospects were for Iran to rebuild its leadership and replace the 86-year-old Khamenei, who had held power since the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced Khamenei’s death as a cynical murder and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi described it as “blatant killing”.

Israel, which has pressed successive U.S. administrations to take action against Iran, claimed responsibility for killing ‌Khamenei, in what it said was a “precise, large-scale operation” guided by intelligence, while he was in his central leadership compound in the heart of Tehran.

It said it aimed to dominate the skies over Tehran, giving no sign of planning an end to the biggest aerial operation in its history, involving hundreds of fighter jets.

“We have the capabilities and the targets to keep going on for as long as necessary,” Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said.

Trump warned that the U.S. would hit Iran “with a force that has never been seen before” if it struck back.

Trump said on social media the U.S. military had destroyed nine Iranian warships so far ​and was “going after the rest.”

Inside Iran, some grieved for Khamenei while others celebrated his death, exposing a deep fault line in a country stunned by the sudden demise of the man who ruled for decades.

Thousands of Iranians were killed in a crackdown authorized by Khamenei against anti-government protests in January, the deadliest wave of unrest since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Footage from Tehran ‌showed mourners packed into a square, dressed in black and many of them weeping.

But videos posted on social media also showed joy and defiance elsewhere, with people cheering as a statue was toppled in the city of Dehloran in Ilam province, dancing in the streets of Karaj city, near Tehran in Alborz province, and celebrating in the streets of Izeh in Khuzestan province. Reuters has verified the locations of these videos.

Khamenei, who built Iran into a powerful anti-U.S. force and ‌spread its sway across the Middle East during his 36-year iron-fisted rule, was working in his office at the time of Saturday’s attack, state media said. The raid also killed his daughter, ⁠grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law. (JapanToday)

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Iran confirms Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dead after US-Israeli attacks

Iranian state media have confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at his office in the Israeli-US attacks on Iran, following earlier reports of his killing by US and Israeli officials.

A 40-day mourning period for the longtime Iranian leader has been announced.

The Sunday confirmation comes after Iran’s Tasnim and Mehr news agencies initially reported that Khamenei remained “steadfast and firm in commanding the field”.

US President Donald Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform earlier in the day that 86-year-old Khamenei was killed in the joint US-Israeli strikes, which began early on Saturday.

“He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do,” Trump wrote.

“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” he said. “Hopefully, the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots.”

While Iranian authorities have long planned for the possible killing of Khamenei in the event of a war with the US and Israel, his assassination injects new uncertainty into an unfolding conflict that has already spurred concerns that fighting could escalate and expand further.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier also claimed that there were “growing signs” that Khamenei had been killed.

Additionally, the Reuters news agency, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official, had reported that Khamenei’s body had ⁠been located.

Khamenei has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, succeeding the founder of the post-shah Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who steered Iran’s 1979 revolution.

The supreme leader holds ultimate authority over all branches of government, the military and the judiciary, while also acting as the country’s spiritual leader.

Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera that Iran “has a plan” in place in the event that Khamenei’s death is confirmed.

“There will probably be a council that will be set up to run the country. It may already have been running the country, as far as we know,” she said.

Saturday’s strikes on Iran targeted 24 provinces, killing at least 201 people, according to Iranian media reports, citing the Red Crescent.

Among the attacks, Israel struck two schools in Iran, killing at least 108 people at the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in the southern city of Minab, and two others at a school east of the capital, Tehran.

Netanyahu said in his address that many “senior figures” had been “eliminated” in the wave of attacks targeting senior leaders, as Trump called for the government to be toppled.

Israel, Netanyahu said, had killed “commanders in the Revolutionary Guard and senior officials in the nuclear programme. And we will continue.”

Trump indicated on his Truth Social post that “heavy and pinpoint bombing” of Iran would go on “uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary”.

Iran’s counterattacks on Saturday triggered air-defence interceptions in several countries where airbases with US assets are hosted, including Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

On Saturday evening, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that the third and fourth waves of “retaliatory” strikes on US and Israeli positions were ongoing, according to a statement carried by the IRNA news agency.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that he deeply regretted that an opportunity for diplomacy had been “squandered”.

“Military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world,” he told the 15-member body. “I call for de-escalation and an immediate cessation of hostilities”.

Addressing the Security Council, Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, said the US and Israel had “initiated an unprovoked and premeditated aggression”, attacking “civilian populated areas in multiple large cities of Iran, where millions of people reside”.

“This is not only an act of aggression, it is a war crime, and a crime against humanity,” he said.

The US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, insisted that the military action was lawful. “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “That principle is not a matter of politics. It’s a matter of global security.”

China’s UN ambassador, Fu Cong, said Beijing was very concerned by “the sudden escalation of regional tensions”.

Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, condemned the US-Israeli air strikes, demanding that the US and Israel “immediately cease their aggressive actions”. (AlJazeera)