bandar slot

Monday, March 2, 2026

Meet Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, Iran's Newly Appointed Interim Supreme Leader

The three-member council will assume the Supreme Leader's responsibilities until the Assembly of Experts elects a successor, Reuters reported, citing ISNA.

Arafi joins President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei on the temporary body.

“We had prepared for such moments and have plans in place for all scenarios, even for the time after the martyrdom of revered Imam Khamenei,” said Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran's parliamentary speaker, according to Sky News.
Who Is Alireza Arafi?

Alireza Arafi was born in 1959 in Meybod town of Yazd province, central Iran. He comes from a clerical family. His father, Mohammad Ibrahim Arafi, was a religious figure who was later portrayed in state media as being close to former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, as per a Middle East Institute report.

In 1969, at the age of 11, Arafi moved to Qom to continue his religious studies. Qom is Iran's main religious centre. There, he studied under senior clerics. Over the years, he completed advanced religious training and earned the rank of mujtahid, which allows him to interpret Islamic law independently. His main fields are Islamic jurisprudence and philosophy. He is fluent in Arabic and English and has published books and articles.

During the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Arafi was 21 years old. During the 1980s, he remained one of many young clerics in the new Islamic Republic.

His rise began after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became the supreme leader in 1989. In 1992, at age 33, Arafi was appointed Friday prayer leader in Meybod, as per Siasat. Over time, he received more appointments. In 2015, he became Friday prayer leader in Qom, a key religious post.

Arafi also became chairman of Al-Mustafa International University, an institution created to train non-Iranian Shia clerics and promote the Islamic Republic's ideology abroad, as per the Middle East Institute report. The university was formally established in 2009 after merging several earlier initiatives.

In 2016, Arafi was appointed head of Iran's seminary system nationwide. In 2019, he was appointed to the powerful Guardian Council, a 12-member body that reviews laws, supervises elections, and approves or rejects candidates for public office, Al Jazeera reported. The council can veto legislation passed by parliament. He is also a member and deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for choosing and overseeing the supreme leader.

In February 2016, Arafi ran for a seat in the Assembly of Experts from Tehran but lost. He ran on a hardline list linked to the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom.

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Iran-Israel conflict LIVE: War spreads across West Asia as Israel strikes Hezbollah; Indian shares plummet

Israeli strikes were launched at Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday (March 2, 2026), Lebanese state media reported, as Hezbollah said it fired rockets and drones at Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The U.S. and Israel pounded targets across Iran on Sunday (March 1), dropping massive bombs on the country’s ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Khamenei.

ALSO READ:Israel-Iran Conflict: Top Iranian political, spiritual, military leaders and scientists killed by Israel

More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Khamenei and other senior leaders, Iranian leaders have said. Iran vowed revenge, firing missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states in a counteroffensive.

The ‌United States on Sunday ⁠strongly condemned Iran’s missile ‌and drone ‌attacks ‌in ⁠a joint ⁠statement with Bahrain, Jordan, ‌Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the ‌United Arab Emirates.

Highlights from day 2 of the conflict on March 1

(With inputs from agencies)

Follow the latest updates here:
Key Updates

Imperial war: The Hindu editorial on the war against Iran
Stock markets tumble as West Asia war dents risk appetite

March 02, 2026 11:38

24 flights cancelled at Bengaluru airport

In light of the ongoing escalation of tension in the West Asia region, flight service from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has been disrupted for the third consecutive day.

The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which operates the KIA said that 24 flights have been cancelled on March 2, 2026 (Monday).

Iran-Israel conflict: 24 flights cancelled at Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru airport cancels 24 flights amid ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, affecting key routes in West Asia.

March 02, 2026 11:37

Gulf flight operations from Kerala hit for third day amid West Asia conflict

Flight operations to Gulf countries from Kerala were affected for the third consecutive day on Monday (March 2, 2026) following the conflict in West Asia, with authorities indicating that the disruption may last a few more days.

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) listed around 45 departing flights from Kochi as cancelled for Monday on its official website.

Read more here:

Gulf flight operations from Kerala hit for third day amid West Asia conflict

Flight operations from Kerala to Gulf countries face ongoing cancellations due to the West Asia conflict, impacting travel for several days.

March 02, 2026 11:37

Imperial war: The Hindu editorial on the war against Iran

Donald Trump came to the White House promising to end America’s endless wars. That promise now lies in ashes in West Asia. The far-right Republican, who, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, launched an all-out war against Iran on February 28 and killed its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has proved to be one of the most reckless warmongers ever to occupy the Oval Office. Blood is on the hands of these two men — one a mercurial hard nationalist who is turning America into a rogue superpower, and the other, an expansionist ethnonationalist wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Read the full editorial here.

You can also listen to this editorial here.

March 02, 2026 11:34

Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill 31, wound 149: health ministry

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 31 people and wounded 149, the Lebanese health ministry said on Monday, as Israel’s military threatened to intensify its attacks following Hezbollah rocket fire.

The ministry said in a statement that “Israeli enemy raids” on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon “have resulted, in an initial count, in the killing of 31 citizens and the wounding of 149 citizens”.

-AFP

March 02, 2026 11:22

109 from Karnataka stranded in West Asia as airspace closures disrupt flights

At least 109 people from Karnataka have been stranded in West Asian countries following widespread airspace closures amid the ongoing conflict in parts of the Middle East.

According to official data released by the State government, 100 people are stranded in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), and nine in Bahrain, after several countries declared NOTAM (closure of airspace), severely disrupting international flight operations.

District-wise data shows that Ballari accounts for the highest number of stranded passengers in the UAE at 32, followed by Bengaluru (25) and Davanagere (9). Kodagu and Vijayapura have four stranded persons each, while Chikkamagaluru has five. Three persons each are stranded from Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga and Raichur. Two each are from Chikkaballapura, Chitradurga, Kalaburagi and Udupi, while one person is from Tumakuru.

In Bahrain, four persons are from Hassan, three from Udupi, one from Kodagu and one from an unspecified district.

-Darshan Devaiah

March 02, 2026 11:13

Shares of aviation firms, tour operators dive

Shares of airline companies, tour and travel-related services providers tumbled on Monday morning trade amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

The stock of InterGlobe Aviation tanked 7.50%, while SpiceJet declined by 7.27% on the BSE.

Shares of Yatra Online tumbled 11.14 per cent, Easy Trip Planners slumped 9.39%, TBO TEK dived 8.19% and Thomas Cook dropped 5.40%.

-PTI

March 02, 2026 11:01

U.S. futures, Asian shares open lower, oil prices soar as U.S. and Israeli attack Iran

The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran rattled world markets on Monday (March 2, 2026), with U.S. futures initially falling more than 1% and oil prices soaring, though both moderated as trading picked up.

The futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 0.8% by mid-morning in Bangkok.

U.S. futures, Asian shares open lower, oil prices soar as U.S. and Israeli attack Iran

U.S. futures and Asian shares decline as oil prices surge amid escalating tensions from U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Saturday, February 28, 2026

The Death of Khamenei and the End of an Era

His life’s work was to preserve a revolution that is heading for the ash heap.
Women in chadors surround a large framed photograph of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP / Getty

February 28, 2026, 3:55 PM ET

“The essence of oligarchical rule,” George Orwell wrote in 1984, “is the persistence of a certain world-view and a certain way of life, imposed by the dead upon the living.” For nearly four decades, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided over exactly that. He did not build the Islamic Republic of Iran. He inherited it from its founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who in 1979 led a revolution that deposed a U.S.-aligned monarchy and replaced it with an Islamist theocracy whose three ideological pillars were “Death to America,” “Death to Israel,” and the mandatory covering of women—the hijab, he said, was “the flag of the revolution.”

Khomeini died in 1989, and his successor’s life’s work was to keep that revolution alive long after the society it governed had moved on. In this, Khamenei was remarkably, ruthlessly successful. But the worldview he imposed was never truly his own. He was the spokesman for a ghost.

Khamenei’s death by the hand of a nation he worked very hard to kill is a hinge moment in the history of the 47-year-old revolution. He was the last of the regime’s first-generation founders.

Read: The epic miscalculations of Trump and Khamenei

Khamenei’s rise was engineered not by destiny but by maneuver. In 1989, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the shrewd speaker of Parliament and the son of a pistachio merchant, helped anoint Khamenei as supreme leader by claiming that it was Khomeini’s dying wish. Rafsanjani likely believed that he was working to install a pliant figurehead. Khamenei—the son of a poor cleric from the shrine city of Mashhad—had other ideas.

Live updates: Iranian Supreme Leader is dead, Trump says | AP News

President Donald Trump announced the death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.

State media reported that the 86-year-old was killed in an airstrike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran. Satellite photos from Airbus showed that the site was heavily bombed.

His death at his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance,” state TV said.

What we know so far:

The strikes: Some of the first strikes appeared to hit areas around the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iranian media reported strikes nationwide. Smoke could be seen rising from the capital.
Iran retaliates: Hours after the strikes, Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.
Trump’s statement: The U.S. president justified the military action by claiming that Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles that can reach the U.S. Still, Trump’s decision to attack pulls him toward the kind of overseas conflict he once criticized — and has key members of Congress demanding a swift vote on a war powers resolution.

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More explosions in Dubai

Heavy explosions again heard in Dubai.
Sri Lanka warns its nationals in the Middle East to exercise caution

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday urged nearly one million Sri Lankans working and living in the Middle East to exercise heightened vigilance, and avoid nonessential travel as well as large public gatherings.

Separately, the country’s aviation authority said flights from Sri Lanka to destinations in the Middle East have been suspended.
Argentina’s President Milei celebrates Khamenei’s death

Argentine President Javier Milei praised the joint operation carried out Saturday by the U.S. and Israel that killed Iran’s supreme leader, whom he described as “one of the most evil, violent, and cruel individuals in modern history.”

In his statement, Milei also recalled the 1994 terrorist attack on the Argentine Jewish community center, known as AMIA, in Buenos Aires.

The bombing killed 85 people and injured hundreds, marking one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history.

The president reaffirmed that pursuing justice for the victims of the AMIA attack remains a state policy.

“We will continue until the last person responsible pays with his freedom or his life for this horrific crime,” Milei said.
Sirens sound in parts of Israel

Sirens sounded across parts of Israel as its military warned of another Iranian attack.
Air defenses in Dubai go off at dawn

In Dubai, air defenses boomed off and on as the sun rose.
China organizing evacuations from Iran

A Chinese organization is registering citizens in Iran for evacuation to neighboring countries, according to a Chinese media report.

More than 200 Chinese are scattered across Iran, Tan Kai, the president of the Iran Federation of Chinese Organizations, told the Global Times newspaper.

The group is making evacuation preparations at the instruction of the Chinese Embassy, Tan said.

An embassy statement said the land borders with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey were open for individuals wishing to depart on their own.

In Israel, the Chinese Embassy advised citizens to move to safe areas away from the centers of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem and airports, power stations and similar sites.

It said it would begin registering citizens on Sunday who wish to evacuate to Egypt and cannot do so on their own.
US-Israeli strikes kill the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were killed in American-Israel airstrikes on the country, state media reported Sunday.

The state-run IRNA news agency announced the death of Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who took over as the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its past commander in the 12-day June war.

Also killed was Ali Shamkhani, long a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, IRNA said.

Shamkhani was wounded in the June war.
JUST IN: Head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser killed in US-Israeli strikes, state media reports.
Council forms to govern Iran after Khamenei’s killing

A council has formed to govern Iran after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

That council is enshrined in law in the Islamic Republic.

The council is made up of Iran’s sitting president, the head of the country’s judiciary and a member of the Guardian Council chosen by Iran’s Expediency Council, which advises the supreme leader and settles disputes with Parliament.

Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei are on it.

Iranian law says the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible” pick a new supreme leader.
Debris from an aerial interception causes fire at major Dubai port

Dubai authorities say that debris from an aerial interception sparked a fire at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the city’s main sea terminal and a major global transshipment hub.

The Dubai Media Office says emergency crews responded immediately to the blaze on one of the port’s berths and were working to contain it.

The sprawling Jebel Ali, which sits between Dubai’s two manmade palm-shaped islands, is the world’s busiest port outside of East Asia.

The best known of those islands, the Palm Jumeirah, was also struck.

Dubai officials earlier reported that debris from an intercepted drone also caused a fire on the facade of the city’s iconic Burj Al Arab hotel.

The media office also said the Dubai International Airport was damaged and that four employees were injured.

It said the damage was quickly contained.
Mourners raise black flag in Iran’s Mashhad

Mourners raised a black mourning flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and a major pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatens to launch ‘most-intense offensive operation’

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Sunday to launch its “most-intense offensive operation” ever after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The most-intense offensive operation in the history of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will begin in moments, targeting (Israel) and American terrorists bases,” it said.
JUST IN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says ‘the most-intense offensive operation’ ever coming to target Israel, US Mideast bases
JUST IN: Iranian Revolutionary Guard says ‘a severe, decisive and regret-inducing punishment’ coming over Khamenei’s killing.
Air defenses open fire in Tehran

Immediately after the announcement of Khamenei’s death, air defenses around Tehran opened fire with the sound of airstrikes echoing across the capital.
How Khamenei’s death was announced in Iran

On Iranian state television, an anchor broke in to read the announcement of Khamenei’s death.

“To the noble and proud people of Iran: With the ultimate grief and sorrow this is to inform you that following the barbaric attack by the criminal governments of America and the evil Zionist regime, the true example of faith, jihad and resistance, the Supreme Leader of the Revolution Grand Ayatollah Khamenei achieved the blessing of martyrdom,” the anchor said.
Iranian Cabinet warns ‘great crime’ will not go unanswered

Iran’s Cabinet warned early Sunday that this “great crime will never go unanswered” after a U.S.-Israeli campaign killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The statement comes after Iranian state media reported Khamenei, 86, had been killed in an airstrike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran.
JUST IN: Iranian Cabinet warns that this ‘great crime will never go unanswered’ after Khamenei is killed by US-Israeli campaign.
Iranians seen cheering in Tehran

Iranians initially cheered from rooftops and their homes in Tehran, Iran’s capital, when rumors first started to spread late Saturday of Khamenei’s death.
Iran declares 40-day mourning period for Khamenei

Iran’s government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death.
Khamenei family members killed in attacks, Fars news agency reports

The daughter and son-in-law of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were killed in the U.S.-Israeli attacks Saturday in Iran, according to a semiofficial news agency.

Also killed in the Saturday attacks were a grandchild and a daughter-in-law, the Fars News Agency said, citing unidentified sources.

The agency didn’t provide further details.
Israel says it carried out dozens of strikes Sunday

Israel’s military said it carried out strikes in central and western Iran early Sunday that targeted “ballistic missile array and aerial defense systems.”

It said more than 30 targets were hit.

Iran has not acknowledged its materiel losses since the American-Israeli campaign began Saturday.
Khamenei died in Tehran compound, Iran state media says

Iranian state television described Khamenei as being at his compound in downtown Tehran when the initial attack began.

Satellite photos from Airbus showed the site heavily bombed.

His death at his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance,” state TV said.
Iran state media says Khamenei is dead

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, is dead, Iranian state media reported early Sunday.

Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency reported his death, without elaborating on a cause of death.

U.S. President Donald Trump had said earlier he’d been killed in a joint American-Israeli operation targeting Iran.
JUST IN: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, Iranian state media reports
Global shipping firm tells its vessels in the Persian Gulf to shelter

A global shipping firm has instructed its vessels inside the Persian Gulf, and bound to the Persian Gulf, to shelter, citing the rapid military escalation between the U.S., Israel and Iran, and restrictions on traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The company, CMA CGM, said on its website that it has suspended the passage of its vessels through the Suez Canal, a crucial waterway connecting the Red and Mediterranean seas.

“Vessels will be rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope,” it said.
New Zealand says US and Israeli attacks meant to stop Iran’s security threat

New Zealand says the U.S and Israeli attacks were designed to prevent the Iranian regime from threatening international peace and security.

“New Zealand has consistently condemned Iran’s nuclear program, its destabilising activities in the region and elsewhere, and its repression of its own people,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a joint statement.