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The US and Israel launched what the US president, Donald Trump, called “major combat operations” against Iran early on Saturday, striking at targets across the country, saying it would destroy its nuclear programme once and for all. The US president also appeared to call for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, urging the Iranian people to bring down the regime
By Sunday morning it was reported that Iran’s autocratic supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had held power since 1989, had been killed along with several key political and military leaders, including the head of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran has vowed revenge and retaliated with missile and drone attacks across the region. Overnight there have been exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon.
Our academic experts around the world have been working to keep you informed and updated on the big questions and threats, this conflict poses. See below, and keep an eye on our homepage for updates through the day.
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Jonathan Este
Senior International Affairs Editor
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Iran's Supreme Leader Office handout/EPA
Andrew Thomas, Deakin University
Khamenei will largely be remembered for the profound weakness his leadership brought the Islamic Republic.
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US warship Thomas Hudner launches a Tomahawk missile as the American military strikes targets in Iran, March 1 2026.
U.S Navy/U.S. Navy Photo/Alamy Live News
Sarah Schiffling, Hanken School of Economics
Iran has warned it could close down the strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil transits each day.
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Aircraft are avoiding Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates and Syria airspace.
FlightRadar24
Natasha Heap, University of Southern Queensland
War has caused chaos for airlines in the Middle East, stranding tens of thousands of passengers.
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Israel and the US have launched airstrikes on Iranian cities as American president, Donald Trump, calls for the people to ‘rise up’ and overthrown the Islamic Republic.
AP Photo
Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, SOAS, University of London
The attack has come in the middle of talks between Washington and Tehran.
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Nina Srinivasan Rathbun, University of Toronto; USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Silence from the US side after a third round of indirect talks and frustration expressed by President Donald Trump set the stage for military strikes.
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James Horncastle, Simon Fraser University; Jack Adam MacLennan, Park University
Even if the U.S. and Israel succeed in bringing about regime change in Iran, they may create an even worse geopolitical situation.
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Andrew Thomas, Deakin University
By using its drone and missile arsenal on its neighbours, Iran is telling the region, and the world, the regime will not go quietly.
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Shannon Bosch, Edith Cowan University
Daily compliance of international law remains the norm. Violations do occur – sometimes brazenly – but they are exceptions.
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Javed Ali, University of Michigan
The latest attack on Iran goes far beyond previous operations by Israel and the US in both scale and scope. Tehran will likely lean on unconventional warfare as well as its missile stockpile.
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Bamo Nouri, City St George's, University of London
It appeared that diplomacy was working, but the strikes by the US and Israel now risk destroying any chance of a peaceful resolution of this crisis.
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Bianca Baggiarini, Deakin University
Questions about ethical AI may go out the window when democratic norms are collapsing.
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