Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran, was killed in US and Israeli strikes on Tehran.
The area surrounding the Narmak neighbourhood, where Ahmadinejad had been living since leaving office, was struck multiple times during the first day of attacks, which also killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior military commanders.
Air strikes on Iran continued on Sunday, while Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf states in retaliation. Hotels and a French naval base were among the targets in Abu Dhabi.
Ahmadinejad, 69, served as Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013, presiding over the country during heightened confrontation with the West over its nuclear programme.
In recent years, he became an opposition voice critical of Iran’s current leadership despite his hardline conservative background.
The Iranian government offered no immediate official confirmation of Ahmadinejad’s death. At least two students at Hedayat school near his residence were confirmed killed in Saturday’s strikes on the Narmak area.
Israel launched fresh strikes on the heart of Tehran on Sunday morning, a day after killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a missile barrage.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it began a new “wave of strikes” against regime targets in the Iranian capital on Sunday. It came after the air force conducted large-scale strikes in the past 24 hours to establish “aerial superiority” and to pave the path to Tehran.
As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out through the capital and plumes of smoke were seen rising above buildings in footage shared online.
Meanwhile, missiles and drones launched from the Islamic Republic forced millions of Israelis into bomb shelters throughout the night and early morning, leaving many to sleep in their shelters and underground public spaces.
At least nine people were killed in an Iranian ballistic missile attack in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on Sunday. The attack hit a residential area and caused widespread damage to a synagogue as well as private homes.
A woman in her 40’s was also killed in Tel Aviv as a ballistic missile hit near an apartment building. A further 27 people were wounded.
Iran said it launched its “most devastating offensive in history” on Sunday, targeting 27 US bases, in retaliation for the American and Israeli attacks.
A source briefed on the operation told The Telegraph that Israel and the US hit more than 1,000 targets in Iran in the past 24 hours, which included ballistic missile launchers, radar systems, drones, government and buildings used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
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