US and Israel Launch Pre-Emptive Strikes, Killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Dawn Reports

Dawn says the US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations.”

“Israel's Channel 12 reported that Tel Aviv sent Washington a message stating that any return to fighting with Iran must include the destruction of Iran's energy infrastructure”

Al-Jazeera Net

Dawn also says Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes, and that Mojtaba Khamenei replaced his father as Iran’s new supreme leader.

Al-Jazeera Net

The same Dawn live updates add that US and Iran exchanged fire on May 8 despite the ceasefire, and that Washington said it was awaiting Iran’s response to a US proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved for now.

Dawn further reports that Pakistan hosted the first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran in 47 years in April, and that the talks ended without a breakthrough but also without a breakdown.

In a separate account, Al-Jazeera Net says Tel Aviv asked Washington that any return to fighting with Iran must include the destruction of Iran's energy infrastructure.

Al-Jazeera Net reports that Channel 12 said Israel is trying to convince the United States that destroying Iran's energy infrastructure is the 'only practical way' to make progress in confronting Tehran.

The same Al-Jazeera Net account quotes an Israeli official saying, 'If you do not topple the regime, at least leave it paralyzed.'

The Sunday Guardian

Dawn’s live updates say Washington was awaiting Iran’s response to a US proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved for now, even as hostilities briefly renewed.

Dawn also says Egypt condemned the latest Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates, calling them “flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly United Arab Emirates.”

In the Arabic-language roundup, Al-Jazeera Net’s framing of Israeli demands contrasts with the report that Trump threatened to bomb and destroy Iran's energy infrastructure unless the Strait of Hormuz is fully opened to international navigation.

Dawn says Egypt’s foreign ministry statement described the Iranian attacks as “a clear breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” and as “a direct threat to the security and stability of the region.”

“US-Israel-Iran War Latest Update:Fresh diplomatic signals from Washington and Tehran have slightly eased fears of a broader regional war, yet the Middle East remains dangerously unstable”

The Sunday Guardian

Dawn also reports that US forces redirected 57 vessels from Iranian ports, Centcom says, and that a suspected oil spill was seen on satellite images near Iran's Kharg Island export hub.

The Sunday Guardian says US Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that Iran’s oil production has already dropped by nearly 400,000 barrels per day amid sanctions pressure and military uncertainty.

In the Arabic-language roundup, the report says Trump threatened to blow up the world’s largest gas field with a massive explosion after Israeli strikes on the Iranian site, and that he warned the United States would respond forcefully if Iran attacked Qatar again.

Al-Jazeera Net adds that Iranians warned the United States they would bomb all Israeli and American infrastructures and those connected to America in the region if their vital facilities were targeted.