Missiles tore open the West Asian sky on February 28 as the United States and Israel launched a sweeping assault on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top Generals in what Washington said was a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Satellite images showed the wreckage of the leader’s compound in Tehran, where smoke curled above shattered roofs. Within hours, grief spilled onto the streets. Mourners waving Iranian flags gathered in vigil while symbolic funerals echoed from Tehran to Baghdad, where crowds chanted against Washington and Tel Aviv. Iran’s retaliation followed swiftly. Missiles streaked toward Israel and U.S. bases across the Gulf. Explosions rattled Bahrain, debris from intercepted drones near oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia halted services, industrial zones in the United Arab Emirates were targeted, and the conflict’s tremors reached Lebanon, home to Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. Amid the spiralling escalation — from verbal taunts by leaders, pummelling of air strikes to attacks by non-state actors, civilians bore the quiet cost. In Jerusalem, mourners buried three siblings killed by Iranian fire. In Iran’s Minab, graves were dug after a strike on a girls’ school reported to have killed over 150, most of them children. The fighting has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 200 in Lebanon, and 11 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The war’s shockwaves are also rippling through global markets, threatening economic turmoil that could spill crises far beyond the battlefield. (Text by Mohammed Hidhayat) Photo: AFP Capital under fire: Smoke rises over Tehran after a U.S.- Israel strike on March 3. Washington warned it was ‘too late’ for talks as Iran intensified attacks on economic targets and U.S. missions across West Asia. Photo: AFP Shattered power: Destroyed buildings inside the compound of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Photo: Reuters War’s echo: Smoke rises over Manama, Bahrain, after explosions were heard across the city on February 28. Photo: AFP Downed eagle: A U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashes in Kuwait during the third day of Iranian strikes targeting countries hosting U.S. military bases, on March 2. Photo: Reuters Fallen leader: Mourners carry a coin during a symbolic funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Najaf, Iraq, following his reported death in Israeli and U.S. air strikes. Photo: AFP Skies of war: Smoke rises over buildings in Doha, Qatar, on March 5 after explosions were heard hours after authorities began evacuating residents living near the U.S. embassy. Photo: AFP Innocence nearby: Children gather around an unexploded missile in an open field on the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, on March 5. Photo: Reuters City in smoke: Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs after reported Israeli strikes, seen from Baabda, Lebanon, on March 6. Photo: Reuters Rows of loss: Graves are being prepared for victims after a strike hit a girls’ primary school in Minab, Iran, killing about 150 people and injuring nearly 100. Photo: AFP Streets of sorrow: A road strewn with rubble and debris after overnight Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, on March 6. Photo: AP Rescue at sea: Sailors being rescued after the Iranian ship IRIS Dena sank o Galle, Sri Lanka, following a U.S. submarine attack. Published – March 08, 2026 09:16 am IST Share this: Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email More Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Click to share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Like this:Like Loading... Post navigation P.Viji: stitching up rights for women In Chennai, a former Commissioner’s name lives on, in different forms