Sputnik International

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Tehran launched four ballistic missile strikes on the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday.

“The primary problem the US and its proxies in the region have is America’s own global overreach,” prolific geopolitical analyst Brian Berletic told Sputnik, commenting on reporting by Bloomberg that US missile interceptor stocks could run low “within days” if sustained Iranian retaliatory strikes continue.

Iran is in an “existential confrontation” with the US and Israel, and restricting access to the Hormuz Strait – entry point to the oil-rich Persian Gulf region, is one of the “most powerful strategic cards” it holds, says Dr. Ali Mamouri, a former strategic communication advisor to Iraq’s prime minister.

The US and Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory closure of the narrow choke point exit from the Persian Gulf may have “cascading consequences for the global economy,” culminating in severe blows to the US dollar and other fiat currencies, says energy economist Dr. Kazi Sohag.

Ali Khamenei, the second supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has been killed in an Israeli bombing at the age of 86.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump has made a final decision to strike Iran by the end of the week, media reported, citing three senior officials from his administration.

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has appointed Ahmad Vahidi, who previously served as an advisor, to the position of commander, the Iranian news agency Khabar Online reported.

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran banned the entry to the Persian Gulf for US ships, senior Iranian official Mohsen Rezaei said on Sunday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed deep condolences to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and members of his family, Kremlin Spokesman Dmtry Peskov said.

The diplomacy was never real—it was a ruse to create a false sense of security and enable Israel to strike, Former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter told Sputnik.

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran confirmed the death of Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Abdolrahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, the IRNA state new agency reported on Sunday.

On Saturday, the US and Israel launched a series of strikes on Iranian targets, including Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Russia demands that the United States and Israel immediately stop their aggressive actions against Iran, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said.

Smoke rises above the American military installation in Iraqi Kurdistan following a reported strike.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite unit of the armed forces) announced the beginning of "the most brutal offensive operation in the history of the country's armed forces" after confirming the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been killed in attacks by Israel and the United States, Iranian state television confirmed.