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EXPLAINER

Until Khamenei’s successor is picked, the three-member leadership council, including Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, will lead Iran.

Iranian authorities have announced a three-member interim leadership council to run the government after the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Israeli-United States strikes.

Iran’s government pledged to avenge the killing on Saturday of Khamenei, who had been in power for nearly four decades. Tehran has since targeted Israeli and US assets located across Gulf countries in retaliatory strikes.

While US President Donald Trump has said he wants a change in Iran’s government, the religious leaders of Iran moved on Sunday to start the process of choosing Khamenei’s successor.

What is the interim leadership council?

Article 111 of Iran’s Constitution authorises a temporary leadership council to assume the supreme leader’s duties until a successor is elected.

That council will consist of President Masoud Pezeshkian; the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei; and a member of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi.

So who are these three figures who will temporarily run Iran as it reels from war?

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi

Arafi has been a member of the Guardian Council since 2019. Its members are appointed by the supreme leader. It is an Islamic legal authority that vets Iran’s laws and policies to make sure they conform to Islamic principles. It approves election candidates, has veto power over legislation passed by parliament and supervises elections.

Arafi also serves as the deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for overseeing the selection of the supreme leader. He leads Friday prayers in Qom, Iran’s most important religious centre, and heads the seminary system, overseeing education for religious leaders nationwide.

Masoud Pezeshkian

Pezeshkian, 71, is a reformist politician and heart surgeon who served in the army during the Iran-Iraq War. He was elected president in the 2024 elections.

He previously served as health minister under President Mohammad Khatami and, after 2005, as a member of parliament representing the northwestern city of Tabriz.

Pezeshkian ran unsuccessfully for president earlier but in 2024 won on a reform-oriented platform and has since navigated economic pressures and regional tensions.

He earlier campaigned on economic stabilisation, easing social restrictions and pursuing constructive engagement abroad while affirming loyalty to the Islamic Republic’s constitutional framework.

Reacting to Khamenei’s assassination, Pezeshkian said in a statement that Iran now considers “it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime”.

Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei

Mohseni-Ejei is a senior religious leader and has headed the judiciary since Khamenei appointed him to the post in July 2021.

He previously served as intelligence minister from 2005 to 2009 and later as prosecutor-general and first deputy chief justice. He is regarded as a hardline figure aligned with the conservative wing of the government.

In January, when the collapsing rial triggered protests across Iran, Mohseni-Ejei promised “no leniency” towards what he called “rioters”.

Mohseni-Ejei said the US and Israel “openly and explicitly supported the unrest” in the country after Trump called on Iranians to take to the streets.

After Khamenei’s killing, Trump again addressed the Iranian public on Saturday, calling for them to topple the government. “This will probably be your only chance for generations,” he said on Saturday after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran began.

CHARLOTTE Crosby has revealed that her one-year-old baby daughter has taken her first steps in a very sweet update.

The Geordie Shore legend, 35, took to Instagram to share the adorable news with her fans.

Charlotte posted some cute clips and captioned them: “Had some little milestones while out here. Alba officially ditched her night nappies. 5 nights and counting no nappy no accidents.

“And Pixi took her first steps! I really truly think next week we are gonna have an official little walker!

“She’s so tiny it looks so strange her taking steps. She’s definitely earlier than Alba my clever little munchkin.

“Feeling all the emotions watching them take these next steps.

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“My girls, my two little best friends.”

In a later snaps, a giggling Pixi looked adorable as Charlotte captioned them: “We caught this one step on camera last night but she did about 4 at once yesterday.”

A gorgeous snap of Alba followed with her dancing adoringly for the camera, as her proud mum captioned the clip: “I just can’t with her,” alongside a string of loving emojis.

The TV personality laid bare her life last year in the Paramount+ show, Geordie Stories: Charlotte Mam of Two.

However, Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Charlotte said: “You heard it here first. I won’t be continuing doing that one, not that exact show.

“Whether or not I have another show about my life or following my wedding, that will happen at some point when I do decide to get married, but right now that show with Paramount is parked up.”

The series showed Charlotte’s busier than ever lifestyle with a months-old baby and a toddler.

It also followed Charlotte’s romance with Jake Anker, and the ups and downs of their relationship.

The pair previously opened up to The Sun that the couple struggled financially after having their second child. 

A young Charlotte. first appeared on our screens back in 2011 as a wild 21-year-old living it up in the Geordie Shore house.

The show was a British spin-off of the American series Jersey Shore, and was set in Newcastle.

Bubbly Charlotte also made appearances on Celebrity Big Brother, Celebs Go Dating and Tattoo Disasters UK.

However, she is desperate to pull on a murderous cloak for BBC‘s The Traitors and is a massive fan of the show.

But when her agent tried to get her on series two he was told reality stars are ‘banned’.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Charlotte said: “I would love to do that but you do know they’ve got a no reality rule. That is a genuine fact.”

Charlotte shares her two daughters with fiancé Jake, who she got engaged to in November 2023.

Jake runs the Streamline Executive chauffeur company, with clients including David Beckham. 

The couple are very proud parents to Alba, born in 2022, and Pixi, born in 2025.

An Iranian missile attack on the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh, 30 kilometers west of Jerusalem, has killed at least nine people and wounded dozens more. The strikes reportedly targeted an army headquarters and a weapons manufacturing complex.

Explosions are being heard in Iran, Israel and across several Middle Eastern states after the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on Saturday.

Tehran has responded by launching waves of missiles and drones at Israel and towards several military bases in the Middle East where US forces operate.

Iran had previously warned that if it were attacked, it would respond by targeting US military facilities across the region, which it considers legitimate targets.

Which countries have been attacked?

Israel’s air force says it dropped more than 1,200 munitions across 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces over the past day in its joint attack with the US.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has launched attacks on 27 bases in the Middle East where US troops are deployed as well as Israeli military facilities in Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel.

So far, Iran has launched strikes across eight countries in the region: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Most of these attacks have been intercepted.

US military presence in the Middle East

The US has operated military bases in the Middle East for decades.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the US operates a broad network of military sites, both permanent and temporary, across at least 19 locations in the region.

Of these, eight are permanent bases in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

As of mid-2025, there are about 40,000 to 50,000 US soldiers in the Middle East stationed in both large, permanent bases and smaller forward sites.

The countries with the most US soldiers are Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. These installations serve as critical hubs for US air and naval operations, regional logistics, intelligence gathering and force projection.

How many people have been killed or injured?

Below are the confirmed casualties across the 10 countries that have been subject to attacks as of Sunday at 13:40 GMT.

Due to the rapidly evolving situation, all figures may change as more information becomes available.

Iran – killed: 201, injured: 747

As of Sunday morning, the Iranian Red Crescent Society and official state-linked media have reported preliminary casualty figures of 201 people killed and at least 747 injured as rescue operations continue.

Since then, explosions continue to be heard across Iran with Israel saying it has carried out a large aerial attack on the “heart of the capital”.

The deadliest single incident occurred in the city of Minab in southeastern Iran, where a strike on an elementary girls school reportedly killed at least 148 people and injured 95. The attack occurred on Saturday, and the death toll has been climbing since.

Israel – killed: 9, injured: 121

On Sunday afternoon, an Iranian ballistic missile strike on central Israel’s Beit Shemesh killed eight people and injured about 20. Rescue workers are still combing through the rubble.

Late on Saturday, one woman in the Tel Aviv area was confirmed killed after being struck by falling shrapnel.

At least 121 others have been reported injured, at least one seriously.

At least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv were damaged in Iranian strikes on Saturday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, citing the city government.

Bahrain – killed: 0, injured: 4

Iranian missiles targeted the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain’s Juffair area.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior also confirmed that the country’s international airport was targeted with a drone, “resulting in material damage without loss of life”.

On Saturday night, several residential buildings in the capital, Manama, were struck by Iranian drones.

Government hospitals said four people were receiving treatment for shrapnel-related injuries.

Iraq – killed: 2, injured: 5

The US and Israel also targeted the Jurf al-Sakher base, also known as Jurf al-Nasr, in southern Iraq, which houses the Popular Mobilisation Forces, made up of mostly Shia fighters, and the Iran-supported Iraqi paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah.

Iraqi state media and sources within Kataib Hezbollah confirmed that two fighters were killed in the strikes and five were wounded.

In northern Iraq‘s semiautonomous Kurdish region, where the US is reported to still have troops, several powerful explosions were reported near the US consulate and international airport in Erbil.

Air defences intercepted the drone attacks on Saturday, according to reports.

Jordan – killed: 0, injured: 0

The Jordanian armed forces reported intercepting 49 drones and ballistic missiles that entered Jordanian airspace. While their fragments caused localised property damage, there have been no deaths or injuries within the kingdom.

Kuwait – killed: 1, injured: 32

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence says Ali al-Salem Air Base came under attack by a number of ballistic missiles, all of which were intercepted by Kuwaiti air defence systems.

A drone targeted Kuwait International Airport on Saturday, resulting in minor injuries to a number of employees and limited damage to the passenger building.

On Sunday, Kuwait’s Ministry of Health said one person had been killed and 32 wounded.

Oman – killed: 0, injured: 5

On Sunday morning, the Oman News Agency, quoting a security source, said two drones had targeted the Duqm port, injuring one foreign worker.

Later, Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said a Palau-flagged oil tanker was ‌attacked about 5 nautical miles (9km) off Oman’s Musandam governorate, injuring four people.

Qatar – killed: 0, injured: 16

As of Sunday morning, the Qatari Ministry of Interior confirmed that the number of injured was at 16 people. Most injuries were reported to be from falling shrapnel and debris with one person seriously hurt.

The Qatari Ministry of Defence confirmed that two ballistic missiles struck the Al Udeid military base, where US forces are stationed, while a drone targeted an early warning radar installation.

Qatari air defence systems, in coordination with regional partners, successfully intercepted about 65 missiles and 12 drones over Qatari airspace, it said.

The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority suspended all air navigation indefinitely. Qatar Airways grounded all flights and advised passengers that updates will be provided on Monday by 9am (06:00 GMT).

All schools have moved to remote learning, and public gatherings for Ramadan have been suspended until further notice to ensure public safety.

Saudi Arabia – killed: 0, injured: 0

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Iranian attacks targeted both the capital, Riyadh, and Eastern Province, home to major oil infrastructure and the King Abdulaziz Air Base.

The kingdom has officially reported no casualties as of Sunday afternoon.

United Arab Emirates – killed: 3, injured: 58

As of Sunday afternoon, at least three people in the UAE were confirmed killed and 58 others wounded.

A Pakistani national was killed and seven people were injured when debris from intercepted missiles and drones fell on a residential area near Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that another individual, identified as an Asian national, was killed by falling shrapnel in a residential district of the capital.

Additionally, four airport staff at Dubai International Airport sustained injuries, and four people were injured at Palm Jumeirah after a fire in a building caused by falling debris.

As of Sunday afternoon, The UAE’s Defence Ministry says it detected 165 ballistic missiles, destroying 152, and intercepted two cruise missiles.

A highly anticipated new Western drama in the hit Yellowstone franchise is about to start on Paramount+

Yellowstone’s new spin-off that puts Kayce Dutton (played by Luke Grimes) at the forefront is finally here, and it’s a must-watch for fans of the gripping Western drama.

Airing today (Sunday, 1st March) on CBS in the US and later available on Paramount+, Marshals: A Yellowstone Story follows the rancher and former Navy SEAL as he enlists with an elite squad of US Marshals to deliver justice across Montana.

As he wages war against violence and learns to adapt to working with a team, he must also strive to become the best father possible to his teenage son, Tate (Brecken Merrill).

The latest of several spin-offs from the popular neo-Western saga created by Taylor Sheridan, Marshals promises action-packed cases and gripping drama each week that is sure to keep viewers satisfied.

Although reviews have been mixed so far, garnering a 50 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, critics agree the show has huge potential and is bound to keep die-hard fans enthralled.

Collider has praised Grimes’ central performance as Kayce, writing that he comes into his own as the Yellowstone franchise’s newest lead.

“Grimes carries the series with ease,” they went on, “graduating from being a supporting cast member roaming alongside Kevin Costner’s shadow to the leading man of his own cowboy-flavoured crime drama.”

Their review also assured fans that the shift to CBS hasn’t sanitised the gritty Yellowstone brand too much, adding: “Marshals is a neo-Western that is chock-full of potential.

“It’s action-packed, thrilling, and full of everything you could ask for in a Kayce Dutton-led series that fights hard to divorce itself from the “Y” that still lingers in the background. It’s not perfect, nor does it claim to be, but once it gets through the initial growing pains, it will be able to stand firmly on its own.”

Men’s Journal described the series as “kick-a**”, promising it still has the “Yellowstone magic”.

The review went on: “Marshals may not be as twisty or unpredictable as 1923 or the recent season of Landman, but it has that same sparkle and magic of the other Sheridan westerns.

“It’s the sort of show that doesn’t ask much to get invested, and rewards you with the simple pleasure of feeling good after you’ve watched an episode. In a world of morally grey anti-heroes, Kayce Dutton is here to be the perennial good guy on horseback. And frankly, it’s good to have him back.”

TVLine was also impressed with the Yellowstone universe’s latest offering, urging potential viewers not to be put off by Marshals’ broadcast on CBS, home to crime procedurals such as NCIS and FBI.

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“Marshals actually manages to serve both of its masters quite well,” they wrote.

“With its swelling score, sweeping cinematography, and gorgeous opening credits sequence (a dying art!), you’ll often find yourself wondering, ‘Wait, am I really watching a network procedural right now?’

“Marshals fires on all cylinders, sending the team on explosive missions that guarantee your Sunday nights will end with a bang.”

They concluded: “A visual treat with genuine heart, Marshals is enough of a crime procedural to appeal to viewers who enjoy a complete story told in 60 minutes, while also remaining prestigious enough to satisfy Yellowstone fans who might not typically watch a show like, say, S.W.A.T. or NCIS.”

Marshals: A Yellowstone Story premieres Sunday, 1st March on CBS and the following Monday on Paramount+.

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Iranian state media confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, was killed in a joint US-Israeli air strike. Here’s what we know about him and the key moments that defined his rule.

Follow the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the London derby as league leaders Arsenal face Chelsea.

The lovely, funny “American Classic,” premiering Sunday on MGM+, is a love letter to theater, community and community theater. Kevin Kline plays Richard Bean, a narcissistic stage actor. He’s famous enough to be opening on Broadway in “King Lear,” but he has to be pushed onstage and is forgetting lines. After he drunkenly assails a hostile New York Times critic — caught on video, of course — he’s suspended from the play, and his agent (Tony Shalhoub) advises him to get out of town and lay low until the heat’s off, as they used to say in the gangster movies.

Learning that his mother (Jane Alexander, acting royalty, in film clips) has died, Richard heads back to his small Pennsylvania hometown, where his family — all actors, like the Barrymores, but no longer acting — owns a once-celebrated theater. To Richard’s horror, it has, for want of income, become a dinner theater, hosting touring productions of “Nunsense” and “Forever Plaid” instead of the great stage works on which he cut his teeth.

Brother Jon (Jon Tenney), running the kitchen at the theater, is married to Kristen (Laura Linney), Richard’s onetime acting partner, who dated him before her marriage; now she’s the mayor. Their teenage daughter, Miranda (Nell Verlaque) — a name from Shakespeare — does want to act and move to New York, as her mother had before her, but is afraid to tell her parents. Richard’s father, Linus (Len Cariou), is suffering from dementia, though not to the point he won’t actively contribute to the action; every day he comes out again as gay.

Across the eight-episode series, things move from the ridiculous to the sublime. Richard’s attempt to stage his mother’s funeral, with her coffin being lowered from the ceiling, while “Also sprach Zarathustra” plays and smoke billows toward the audience, fortunately comes to naught; but he announces at the ceremony that he’ll direct a production of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play “Our Town” at the theater, to “restore the soul of this town.” (His big idea is to ignore Wilder’s stage directions, which ask for no curtain, no set and few props, with a “realistic version,” featuring a working soda fountain, rain effects and a horse.) Fate will have other plans for this, and not to give away what in any case should be obvious, the title of the play will also become its ethos, with a cast of amateurs, including Miranda’s jealous boyfriend, Randall (Ajay Friese), and ordinary people standing in for the ordinary people of Wilder’s Grover’s Corners.

The series has a comfortable, cushiony feeling; it’s the sort of show that could have been made as a film in the 1990s, and in which Kline could have starred as easily in his 40s as in his 70s; it has the same relation to reality as “Dave,” in which he played a good-hearted ordinary Joe who takes the place of a lookalike U.S. president. The town is essentially a sunny place, full of mostly sunny people, to all appearances, a typical comedy hamlet. But we’re told it’s distressed, and Mayor Kristen is in transactional cahoots with developer Connor Boyle (Billy Carter), who wants clearance to build a casino on the site of a landmark hotel. (Much of the plot is driven by money — needing it, trading for it, leaving it, losing it.) He also wants his heavily accented, bombshell Russian girlfriend, Nadia (Elise Kibler), to have a part in “Our Town.”

As in the great Canadian comedy “Slings & Arrows,” set at a Shakespeare Festival outside of Toronto, themes and moments and speeches from the play being performed are echoed in the lives of the performers, while the viewer experiences the double magic of watching a fine actor playing an actor playing a part. Kline, of course, is himself an American classic, with a long stage and screen career that encompasses classical drama, romantic and musical comedy and cartoon voiceovers; the series makes room for Richard to perform soliloquies from “Hamlet” and “Henry V,” parts Klein has played onstage. He brings out the sweetness latent in Richard. Linney, who played against her sweetheart image in “Ozark,” is happily back on less deadly ground (though she’s tense and drinks a little). Tenney, who was sweet and funny on “The Closer,” and who we don’t see enough of these days, is sweeter and funnier here, and gets to sing. (All the Beans will sing, except for Linus.)

As a comedy, it is often predicable — you know that things will work out, and some major plot points are as good as inevitable — but it’s the good sort of predictability, where you get what you came for, where you hear the words you want to hear, ones you could never have written yourself. “American Classic” is not out to challenge your world view in any way but wants only to confirm your feelings and in doing so amplify them. Shock effects are fine in their place — and to be sure there are major twists in the plot — but there is a certain release when the thing you’re ready to have happen, happens, whether it brings laughter or tears. Either is welcome.

Loud explosions have been heard in Doha, the capital of Qatar, as defence systems shot down incoming Iranian missiles. Falling debris ignited large fire that sent plumes of black smoke rising above the city. Iran has hit multiple Gulf states as it responds to US-Israeli attacks.

The assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, in the US-Israeli air attacks has thrust Tehran to a pivotal crossroads as the clergy looks to pick the late ayatollah’s successor.

With Iran on a war footing, several senior leaders close to Khamenei were killed in the attack as well, including his top security adviser Ali Shamkani and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander-in-chief Mohammad Pakpour.

Tehran has vowed to avenge the killing of Khamenei. The US President Donald Trump warned against the retaliatory attacks and suggested that the strikes on Iran would continue.

The US-Israeli attacks hit Iran on Saturday, when Tehran’s top diplomats were waiting for the next round of talks on upcoming Monday to lock a deal with Trump, including laying down nuclear ambitions, and avoiding an armed conflict.

After 36 years in power, the late ayatollah’s killing has left Iran’s top clerics to prepare for the transfer of power to the next Supreme Leader. That’s something that they have only done once before, four decades ago.

So, who will be the next Supreme Leader of Iran? And how will he be chosen?

How is the Supreme Leader selected?

Iran’s Supreme Leader is selected by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body elected by the public every eight years.

Candidates who run for the Assembly must first be vetted and approved by the Guardian Council, a powerful oversight body whose members are partly appointed by the Supreme Leader himself.

When the position becomes vacant, due to death or resignation, the Assembly of Experts convenes to choose a successor. A simple majority is sufficient to appoint the new Supreme Leader.

As per Iran’s constitution, the candidate must be a senior jurist with deep knowledge of Shi’a jurisprudence, as well as qualities such as political judgment, courage, and administrative capability.

Earlier, there had been only one other transfer of power in the office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, when Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, died at age 86 in 1989.

What happens in Iran during a leadership vacuum?

Article 111 of Iran’s constitution mandates that a temporary council handle duties until a new supreme leader is elected.

That council will have: President Masoud Pezeshkian, Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and a cleric from the Guardian Council, according to Iranian media.

They will lead the country until the assembly formally picks the new supreme leader.

Iran’s security chief and a close confidante of the late Khamenei, Ali Larijani, said on Sunday that the transition process is underway.

Luciano Zaccara, a research associate professor in Gulf Politics at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera that Iran’s political system has been prepared for the current situation, knowing that Khamenei’s assassination was a real possibility.

“Trump wants to get the best deal possible, but the method he’s using to get that deal is to annihilate or destroy as much as he can,” Zaccara said. “This is the way to impose conditions, not to negotiate anything. Trump wants a surrender of the regime, not a change.”

The late Ayatollah made sure to put in a structure, he added, to avoid a vacuum of power and kept replacements for all the officials eliminated in the last few months ready. “The structures remain, the line of power [and] the line of command remain in place,” Zaccara told Al Jazeera.

What is the Supreme Leader of Iran?

The Supreme Leader is the top position in the Islamic Republic’s political and religious hierarchy.

He is essentially the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the final word in the country – and appoints key judicial, military, and media officials.

He also leads the mighty Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force that leads the so-called Axis of Resistance.

Here are the contenders for the top job in Tehran

Mojtaba Khamenei

Khamenei’s second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is among the top contenders to succeed his father in Iran.

He is known to wield significant influence among the administrators and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the most powerful military body.

However, Khamenei’s lineage is also among the biggest barriers he faces.

Khamenei was reportedly opposed to the father-to-son succession. It is frowned upon in Iran, particularly after the US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi monarchy was toppled in 1979.

Alireza Arafi

Arafi, a 67-year-old cleric, is an influential figure in the Islamic Republic’s religious establishment, but not a widely accepted political actor.

He serves as the deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for overseeing the selection of the Supreme Leader, and has been a member of the Guardian Council, which vets election candidates and laws passed by parliament.

Arafi was appointed as ⁠the jurist member of ⁠Iran’s Leadership Council, the body tasked with fulfilling the ‌Supreme Leader’s role until the Assembly of Experts elects a new leader, Iran’s state media reported on Sunday.

Arafi is also the Friday prayer leader of Qom — Iran’s most important religious center — and heads the country’s seminary system, overseeing clerical education nationwide.

Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri

Mirbagheri is an ultra-hardline clerical voice in the establishment and a member of the Assembly of Experts.

He is widely known for his unrelenting anti-Western worldview — and currently heads the Islamic Sciences Academy in the northern city of Qom.

Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei

Mohseni-Ejei is a senior Iranian cleric and currently heads the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, appointed to the role in July 2021 by the late Khamenei.

He previously served as Minister of Intelligence from 2005 to 2009 and later as Prosecutor-General and First Deputy Chief Justice. He is regarded as a hardline figure aligned with the conservative wing of the regime.

Hassan Khomeini

Khomeini, 54, is among the most discussed names in succession talks for the next Supreme Leader.

He is the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, and also the custodian of his grandfather’s mausoleum in Tehran.

While he has not held a public office, Khomeini is a reformist figure known for his rather moderate views on public life and policy. He attempted to run for the Assembly of Experts in 2016, but the vetting council disqualified him.

Tim Lovejoy made a return to Channel 4 alongside co-host Simon Rimmer on Sunday morning

Sunday Brunch suffered an awkward moment as Tim Lovejoy was quick to question a guest on her unexpected “feud” with David Attenborough.

During Sunday’s (March 1) episode of the Channel 4 hit show, Tim made a return to TV alongside co-host Simon Rimmer, for the usual three-hour show packed with celebrity interviews, culinary demonstrations and light-hearted entertainment.

On the long-running programme, the pair chatted to the likes of EastEnders Samantha Womack and American pop star Tiffany Renee Darwish.

However it was their interview with Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock that took everyone by surprise as Tim was quick to call out the science expert on her unexpected fall out with David Attenborough.

Without hesitation, Tim went on to say: “I’ll just put it out there, we understand you’ve got beef with David Attenborough. You fell out with him.”

Maggie burst out laughing as she replied: “Yeah, It’s an ongoing feud, he’s going down.”

Tim wasted no time digging for information as he jumped in: “Tell us about that because you’re both legends of this country and you don’t like each other.” Simon: “It’s so sad actually.”

Maggie explained: “So I was sitting next to him at dinner and I was gobsmacked sitting next to him and he was lovely and wonderful and we started talking about each other’s lives.”

Tim joked: “When did you fall out, was it the main course?” Maggie burst out laughing as she continued: “We were talking about life beyond the earth. It’s just sort of a lovely topic and he was like, no, no Maggie, you know, life needs water.

“And I was like ‘but David no’. I was thinking because that’s life as we know it. All life on earth needs water. But out there there could be life.”

She added: “So we had this ongoing debate, at the end, I said, ‘okay, David, I’m gonna go out and prove my theory’. He said, ‘Maggie, you’re a star. Stay here with us’.”

Viewers watching at home were pleased to see Dame Maggie as they rushed to social media to share their reaction.

One viewer wrote on X: “I could listen to Dame Dr. Maggie all day. She’s got that infectious enthusiasm that always reels me in. #SundayBrunch.” Meanwhile another added: “I love Maggie she’s so humble and nice #SundayBrunch.”

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The Israeli Air Force has launched a new wave of attacks on Tehran. Huge plumes of smoke were seen rising about the Iranian capital as multiple targets were hit.

The assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli air attacks has caused one of the most significant blows to the country’s leadership since the 1979 Islamic revolution, triggering protests by his supporters.

Khamenei assumed Iran’s supreme leadership in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had led the Islamic revolution against the pro-United States Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said seeking revenge for the killing of Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials is the country’s “duty and legitimate right”.

President Donald Trump has framed the operation as a “liberation” moment, predicting that the removal of the “head” will lead to the swift collapse of the body. However, in Iran, the reality suggests a far more complex situation.

Interviews with insiders, military experts and political sociologists suggest that the decapitation of Iran’s top leadership may not go the way the West envisions. Instead, it risks birthing a “garrison state” – a paranoid, militarised system fighting for its existence with no political red lines left to cross.

The limits of ‘decapitation’

The central premise of the US operation is that Iran is too brittle to survive the death of its supreme leader. In a phone interview with CBS News, Trump claimed he “knows exactly” who is calling the shots in Tehran, adding that “there are some good candidates” to replace the supreme leader. He did not elaborate on his claims.

However, military analysts warn against the assumption that air strikes alone can trigger “regime change”. Michael Mulroy, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence, told Al Jazeera Arabic that without “boots on the ground” or a fully armed organic uprising, the state’s deep security apparatus can survive simply by maintaining cohesion.

“You cannot facilitate regime change through air strikes alone,” Mulroy said. “If anyone is left alive to speak, the regime is still there.”

This resilience is rooted in Iran’s dual military structure. The government is protected not just by a regular army (Artesh), but also by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – a powerful parallel military force constitutionally tasked with protecting the velayat-e faqih system – the principle of the guardianship of the Islamic jurist.

Supporting them is the Basij, a vast paramilitary volunteer militia embedded in every neighbourhood, specifically trained to crush internal dissent and mobilise ideological loyalists.

That cohesion is already being tested.

Hossein Royvaran, a political analyst based in Tehran, confirmed that the strikes wiped out the country’s top security tier, including Khamenei’s adviser and secretary of the newly-formed Supreme Defence Council, Ali Shamkhani.

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said the leadership transition will begin on Sunday.

“An interim leadership council will soon be formed. The president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council will assume responsibility until the election of the next leader,” said Larijani.

“This council will be established as soon as possible. We are working to form it as early as today,” he said in an interview broadcast by state TV.

The rapid formation of an interim leadership council – comprising the president, judiciary chief, and a Guardian Council religious leader – indicates that the system’s “survival protocols” have been activated.

According to Royvaran, the system is designed to be “institutional, not personal”, capable of functioning on “autopilot” even when the political leadership is severed.

But a Tehran-based analyst said direction of Iran is still unclear as officials try to ‘project stability’.

“Officials here are trying to project stability, emphasising that the situation is under control and that state institutions are functioning effectively,” Abas Aslani, senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, said.

“Today, [the US-Israeli] air strikes targeted security and military infrastructure in the capital [Tehran] and other cities. There are expectations that such strikes could continue – and possibly intensify – in the coming hours or days,” he told Al Jazeera.

“That prospect of escalation is not something many ordinary Iranians welcome. At the same time, Iranian officials are issuing strong warnings, suggesting they could respond with capabilities that have not previously been used against Israel or the United States.”

From theocracy to nationalist survival

Perhaps the most significant shift in the immediate aftermath is Iran’s pivot from religious legitimacy to survivalist nationalism.

Aware that the death of the supreme leader might sever the spiritual bond with parts of the population, surviving officials are reframing the war not as a defence of the clergy, but as a defence of Iran’s territorial integrity.

Larijani, a conservative heavyweight and key figure in the transition, issued a stark warning that Israel’s ultimate goal is the “partition” of Iran. By raising the spectre of Iran being broken into ethnic statelets, the leadership aims to rally secular Iranians and the opposition against a common external enemy.

This strategy complicates the US hope for a popular uprising.

Saleh al-Mutairi, a political sociologist, notes that the government’s declaration of 40 days of mourning creates a “funeral trap” for the opposition. The streets will likely be filled with millions of mourners, creating a human shield for the government and making it logistically and morally difficult for antigovernment protests to gain momentum in the short term.

The end of ‘strategic patience’

If Iran survives the initial shock, the nation that emerges will likely be fundamentally different: less calculated and probably more violent.

For years, Khamenei championed a doctrine of “strategic patience”, often absorbing blows to avoid all-out war.

Hassan Ahmadian, a professor at the University of Tehran, says the era died with the supreme leader.

“Iran learned a hard lesson from the June 2025 war: Restraint is interpreted as weakness,” Ahmadian told Al Jazeera Arabic. The new calculus in Tehran is likely to be a “scorched earth” policy.

“The decision has been made. If attacked, Iran will burn everything,” Ahmadian added, suggesting that the response will be broader and more painful than anything seen in previous escalations.”

This risks a scenario where field commanders, freed from the political caution of the clerical leadership, lash out with greater ferocity. The assassination has humiliated the security establishment, exposing what Liqaa Maki, a senior researcher at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, calls a catastrophic intelligence failure.

“The believer is not bitten from the same hole twice, yet Iran has been bitten twice,” Maki said, referring to the pattern of US strikes. This “total exposure” is likely to drive the surviving leadership underground, turning Iran into a hyper-security state that views any internal dissent as foreign collaboration, he said.

While the “head” of Iran has been removed, the “body” – armed with one of the largest missile arsenals in the Middle East – remains, Maki said.

LOVE Island beauty Ella Barnes has revealed she was evacuated from Dubai airport amid Iran missile strikes.

The influencer, 25, who starred on the ITV show in 2023, took to Instagram to explain her flight had been cancelled.

Ella posted an image of the empty airport to her social media account and captioned it: “Got evacuated out of Dubai airport and my flight home cancelled.

“Guess, I’ll be staying here a little longer.”

A scared Ella, later posted snaps of missiles in the air and wrote: “Missiles in the sky.

“No this is so scary. Listen to how loud the explosion is at the end. WTF.”

thaw-blimey

Love Island’s Ella Barnes strips off to lace lingerie in the snow

glam girl

Love Island’s Ella Barnes leaves nothing to the imagination in see-through dress

However, earlier today, Ella posted a snap of her driving along a deserted highway and wrote: “We are out of here. Thanks for all the messages. Had so many”

Ella found fame in Love Island 2023, and stole Sheffield lad Mitch Taylor, 28, from his partner Abi Moores, 25, after entering the matchmaking series as a bombshell.

Ella and Love Island alum Mitch announced their split at the end of August 2023, with two separate statements on social media.

Since then, Ella has seen her screen career go from strength to strength.

She bagged a role on TOWIE as the love interest of Roman Hackett prior to their split.

She then became loved-up with her wealthy entrepreneur man Neil Farrugia after the pair made their relationship official  in 2024.

But, she split from the hunk last year as the pair struggled to find time to see each other after a year of dating.

Ella is based in Kent in the UK, while fitness fanatic Neil who previously dated fellow Love Islander Gemma Owen, lives in Malta.

On Saturday, black smoke was seen billowing across the skyline in Dubai after debris from Iran’s missile blitz across the city.

Iran launched a barrage of rockets at nations across the Middle East after vowing revenge for Trump and Israel’s huge blitz on the rogue nation today.

The United Arab Emirate’s top holiday hot spot Dubai is usually a sought after travel destination for celebrities and influencers.

In more recent-times, celebrities from the United Kingdom have been emigrating there, with many Brit celebs choosing Dubai as the place they want to bring up their families.

Sam Gowland from Geordie Shore shared how a “rocket” flew over his home.

“Right above us on the Palm in Dubai today, bloody scary, I tell you that. Never heard a noise like it before,” he penned.

He then later shared a photo of a rocket near his home, writing: “Rocket above my house wtf this is crazy.”

Love Island star Arabella Chi, who relocated from the UK to Dubai with her partner, Billy Henty, and their daughter, Gigi, in 2025, has also shared posts about the scary time she is enduring.

“Dubai friends. Scary times. Stay safe,” she penned on her Instagram stories.

Just hours before the missile strikes, Arabella and her partner were playing with their daughter in the sand.

As Israel and the United States attacked Iran, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip began to panic. They remembered how crossings were closed in the past, causing famine, and rushed to markets to buy whatever they could. As a result, prices of food and basic necessities skyrocketed. Soon enough, the news came that the border crossings had been closed.

All of this happened just as the grace period set by Israel for 37 NGOs to withdraw from Gaza for not fulfilling registration requirements expired. Organisations like Doctors Without Borders (also known by its French acronym MSF), Medical Aid for Palestinians UK, Handicap International: Humanity & Inclusion, ActionAid, CARE, etc were supposed to stop operating in Gaza.

At the last moment, a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court allowed them to continue working while it considers their appeal against the ban. But even with this court decision, these organisations cannot continue to function fully. That is because the Israeli occupation continues to prevent their supplies and foreign staff from entering Gaza.

According to these NGOs, together they are responsible for half of the food handouts in the Strip and 60 percent of services provided in field hospitals.

For many families in Gaza, this means hunger – because food parcels will not be distributed and livelihoods will be lost.

We know this is not about NGOs failing to meet new registration rules, just like the closure of the border crossings is not a matter of security. They are about exacting yet another form of collective punishment on the Palestinians.

Even if the Supreme Court miraculously rules against the NGO ban, the Israeli occupation would still find another way to push these foreign organisations out of Gaza. This was made clear this month when it was revealed that World Central Kitchen, which has been running dozens of soup kitchens across the Strip and which is not on the ban list, may be suspending its activities.

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, this was because Israel blocked most of the organisation’s supply trucks from coming in. As a result, there are not enough supplies to continue cooking. World Central Kitchen previously said it serves 1 million meals daily.

So now, amid the war with Iran, which may last weeks or months, hundreds of thousands of families will not have adequate food once again.

All of this comes on top of Israel’s continuing war on UNRWA. Since its creation in late 1949, the United Nations agency has been the backbone of international support for Palestinian refugees. It has the largest capacity for emergency response and the widest spectrum of services on offer. And yet, Israel has banned its operations and has blocked its supplies from entering the Strip.

Through relentless lobbying, Israel has managed to achieve substantial cuts to UNRWA’s budget. As a result, last month 600 employees were fired. The salaries of the rest were reduced by 20 percent.

The NGO ban will likely result in thousands of people losing their jobs as well. And this is at a time when unemployment in Gaza has gone beyond 80 percent.

My family will also suffer. In the past, we have benefitted from food and basic supplies handouts from NGOs, and my brother has been able to find temporary work as a driver for one of them.

The possible closure of international organisations is a direct threat to the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians who depend on their services and employment. The closure of the border crossings could mean another hunger crisis.

These are a form of collective punishment that yet again will not make the news. Israel is constantly thinking of new ways to make our lives that much more unbearable, that much more impossible in our devastated homeland.

Two and half years of the Israeli genocide has destroyed hospitals, schools, universities, roads, sewage and potable water systems, water treatment plants, the electricity grid, and countless generators and solar panels.

The vast majority of the population lives primitive lives in tents or makeshift shelters that cannot protect people from extreme heat or cold.

Water is contaminated, food is insufficient, land has been destroyed and poisoned.

Now we will be deprived of the little international support we have been receiving.

And what is the goal of all this? To push us ever closer to despair and the ultimate surrender, to make us desire to leave our homeland on our own. Ethnic cleansing by mutual agreement.

All of the organisations that Israel is seeking to ban are foreign. Most of them are based in Western countries. Yet there has been little to no condemnation from Western governments of Israel’s actions against their own organisations. There has been no outrage that the occupation is trying to destroy international humanitarian provision so it can fully control aid distribution.

Collective punishment is a violation of international law. States are obliged to go beyond verbal condemnations and take action by imposing sanctions. Until that happens, we in Gaza will continue to be subjected to ever more brutal acts of collective punishment by our occupiers.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, member of a constitutional watchdog, appointed to temporary council, along with Iranian president and chief justice.

Iran has announced the formation of a three-member transitional council to handle the state duties following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, member of a powerful constitutional watchdog, was appointed on Sunday to the temporary council, whose other two members are President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.

The 67-year-old cleric, who is a member of the Guardian Council that must later choose a supreme leader, was confirmed to the council by the Expediency Council, a powerful arbitration body.

According to Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution, the transitional council will govern the country until an 88-member panel called the Assembly of Experts chooses a new supreme leader after almost 37 years of rule by Khamenei.

His killing on Saturday by the joint United States and Israeli forces has raised crucial questions about Iran’s future.

Although the leadership council will govern in the interim, the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible,” pick a new supreme leader, according to the Iranian constitution.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani are also expected to play pivotal roles in the transitional council, but it remains to be seen where the balance of power lies.

The commander-in-chief of the IRGC was also killed in the US-Israeli attack on Saturday – the second such killing in less than a year – and the next leader of the elite military and economic force is yet to be announced.

IRGC-linked Telegram channels are citing deputy chief Ahmad Vahidi, who was appointed to the position by Khamenei two months ago, as a likely candidate.

Earlier on Sunday, Larijani accused the US and Israel of trying to plunder and break apart Iran and warned “secessionist groups” within Iran of a harsh response if they attempt action, state media said.

“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors,” he said.

A former parliamentary speaker and senior policy adviser, Larijani was appointed to advise Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s darkly comedic action-thriller “One Battle After Another” won the top prize at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, continuing its dominating run through awards season.

The PGA honor, presented at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, cements Anderson’s celebrated film as the front-runner for the best picture Oscar. Since 2009, when both the Producers Guild and the motion picture academy expanded their best picture nominee slates from five to 10 and adopted a preferential ballot, the PGA winner has gone on to win best picture all but three times.

The last time the groups diverged came six years ago when PGA winner “1917” lost the Oscar to Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” a film that surged in momentum in the weeks leading up to the 2020 Oscars.

No other movie this season has shown that kind of strength other than Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which scored a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations in January. However, “One Battle” has prevailed at the major ceremonies since then, winning best picture at the British Academy Film Awards last week and Anderson taking the top honor with the Directors Guild earlier this month.

“Sinners” has one more chance to reverse the tide. It will compete against “One Battle After Another” for the cast award at the Actor Awards on Sunday. That ensemble honor, the most prestigious prize handed out by SAG-AFTRA voters, isn’t as strong a precursor as the PGA’s best film. But “Parasite” did win it right before the 2020 Oscars.

Hope springs eternal. Oscar voting ends on Thursday.

Read the full list of 2026 Producers Guild Award winners below.

Darryl F. Zanuck Award (outstanding theatrical motion picture): “One Battle After Another”

Outstanding animated theatrical motion picture: “KPop Demon Hunters”

Norman Felton Award (outstanding episodic television — drama): “The Pitt”

Danny Thomas Award (outstanding episodic television — comedy): “The Studio”

David L. Wolper Award (outstanding limited or anthology series): “Adolescence”

Outstanding televised or streamed motion picture: “John Candy: I Like Me”

Outstanding nonfiction television: “Pee-wee as Himself”

Outstanding live entertainment, variety, sketch, standup and talk series: “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”

Outstanding game and competition television: “The Traitors”

Outstanding documentary film: “My Mom Jayne”

Outstanding children’s program: “Sesame Street”

Outstanding sports program: “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”

Outstanding short form program: ” Adolescence: The Making of Adolescence”

PGA Innovation Award: “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere”

David O. Selznick Award: Amy Pascal

Milestone Award: Jason Blum

Norman Lear Award: Mara Brock Akil

The crossing with Egypt is considered vital for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of critically ill patients.

Israel has closed Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt amid the joint Israeli-United States attacks on Iran.

“Several necessary security adjustments have been implemented, including the closure of the crossings into the Gaza Strip, among them the Rafah Crossing, until further notice,” Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement.

The Rafah crossing, located on Gaza’s southern border, had reopened only last month, allowing a limited number of Palestinians to leave for the first time in months, including patients in urgent need of medical care.

The crossing is considered vital for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of critically ill patients.

Virtually all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people was displaced during Israel’s genocidal war on the territory, and the enclave remains heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance.

In mid-February, the United Nations said it continued to face impediments in delivering lifesaving aid to Gaza.

In a February report, Human Rights Watch said Israeli restrictions had contributed to shortages of medicines, reconstruction materials, food and water inside the Strip.

COGAT claimed that sufficient food had entered Gaza since the start of the ceasefire to meet four times the nutritional needs of the population. However, it did not provide any evidence to back its claim.

“The substantial quantities of food that have entered since the beginning of the ceasefire amount to four times the nutritional needs of the population,” the Israeli defence body said. “Therefore, the existing stock is expected to suffice for an extended period.”

It added that “the closure of the crossings will have no impact on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip”, saying it would remain in contact with the international community and provide updates on any developments.

COGAT is the Israeli military body responsible for overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory. Critics say it functions as an instrument of surveillance and control, particularly in enforcing movement restrictions and closures.

The Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s Shatta Prison are medically neglected and enduring unprecedented maltreatment, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs said on Thursday.

The Commission described the conditions of the Palestinian prisoners in Shatta as “horrifying,” reported the Palestinian Information Centre. “They are exposed constantly to brutal beatings and pepper spray attacks, and served raw and unsalted food.”

According to the Commission’s lawyer who visited the prisoners in Shatta recently, they are medically neglected and not provided with any treatment. The lawyer specifically mentioned Waleed Musallam, who suffers from severe psoriasis, and Fadi Raddad, who has been suffering from sharp pains in his back and right shoulder since Israeli jailers assaulted him.

The detainees appealed to rights groups to intervene with the Israel Prison Service to allow them to practice their religious rituals during the holy month of Ramadan without restrictions, to improve the quality of food, and to provide them with copies of the Holy Qur’an and clocks.

READ: Hundreds of Palestinians, including children and women, released from Israeli jails

In a rare case of “Saturday Night Live” bringing on a guest host at the exact right moment, Connor Storrie of the hit Canadian hockey romance “Heated Rivalry” brought sexy charisma to the show, even if a lot of the sketch material didn’t rise to occasion.

“SNL” parodied the show last month by mixing it with “Harry Potter,” but with Storrie, and all the attention hockey got with Team USA’s gold medal wins at the Winter Olympics, this hosting appearance felt especially well-planned. And that was even before members of the men’s and women’s teams dropped by, as did Storrie’s co-star on “Heated Rivalry” Hudson Williams, who showed up to a raucous audience reaction for a sketch, showing that a lot of people have caught up with the series since it debuted on HBO Max in November.

As for Storrie’s performance, it was perhaps the best thing on the show, which had a lot of weak sketches, from a fairly obvious cold open to an early piece that seemed like an excuse for Marcello Hernández to play a goofy teacher with an exaggerated accent.

Things got a little better with a pre-taped period piece about gentlemen giving glove slaps and Williams’ appearance in a sketch about a man’s marriage proposal going sideways because he keeps getting distracted by a group of happy men ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Storrie also played a cool teen trying to extend kindness to his extremely dorky tutor (Ben Marshall) and his equally dorky parents (Ashley Padilla and James Austin Johnson), a man who helped his friend out with his absurd leg-lengthening surgery, and an office worker who proposes a romantic office dance. Best of the night for Storrie, perhaps, was one in which he played a very injured stripper at a Las Vegas bachelorette party.

What was clear was that across a pretty broad range of character types, Storrie held his own and brought some smoldering looks and playfulness that the show, for the most part, didn’t know what to do with.

Musical guests Mumford & Sons, along with Aaron Dessner from the National, performed “Rubber Band Man” with Hozier and “Here” with Sierra Ferrell.

This week’s cold open tackled the very recent attack on Iran with President Trump (Johnson) addressing why he acted at 2 a.m. on a Saturday: “It’s after the stock market closes for the weekend and it’s to cause immeasurable fear, rage and chaos in the ‘SNL’ writers’ room,” he explained. Trump sang, “War! What is it good for? Distracting from the Epstein Files!” before introducing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost), who chugged a non-alcoholic Four Loco and showed off his knuckle tattoos for “EPIC FURY.” After a brief aside for Trump and Hegseth to complement the underappreciated Nintendo GameCube console (on which Hegseth said he played the game “Prince of Persia: Sands of Time”), Hegseth said, “We took out a horrendous, horrible leader who was opposing his own people.” Trump cut in: “But don’t get any ideas!”

In his monologue, Storrie joked about the cultural appeal of “Heated Rivalry,” which he said, “taught a lot of people about hockey… and taught a lot of straight women that their sexuality is actually gay guy.” Storrie discussed growing up in Texas, working as a waiter before he was cast in the series, and how little time he had to prepare to play a Russian hockey player for the show. He was then joined by Jack and Quinn Hughes of the men’s Olympic hockey team. But the reaction to the Hughes brothers was topped considerably in audience reaction by women’s team players Hilary Knight and Megan Keller, who came on stage. “It was just gonna be us, but we thought we’d invite the guys, too,” Knight said. “We thought we’d give them a little moment to shine,” Keller added.

Best sketch of the night: How dare they save the best jokes for a video sketch!

At a posh London gathering in 1892, things get out of hand (literally) when two men (Mikey Day and Storrie) engage in a war of words that escalates to cries of “How dare you!” followed by slaps with a glove. Others get involved, but it really gets out of hand when one man violates the so-called “gentleman’s code” by using a fist. Soon, a dog and a baby are involved in the increasingly silly slapping. Storrie’s comedic timing is particularly good in this one and the sketch resists the “SNL” trope of going straight to hardcore violence and bloodshed that it’s been doing in a lot of video sketches of late.

Also good: Tipping is appreciated for dancing while hurt

At this point, “SNL” has probably done 100 bachelorette party sketches, but none of them had Storrie showing off his abs or getting his tearaway pants pulled off. Apart from the eye candy for those seeking it, the sketch offered some solid physical comedy with Storrie playing a stripper who shows up at a hotel suite severely injured after getting hit by a car. He pushes on to fulfill his job duties, but can barely stand. Storrie does a nice job flailing and flopping, throwing his bloodied-up body around the stage and around the bachelorettes (Padilla, Sarah Sherman, Veronika Slowikowska and Jane Wickline), who don’t know whether to be repulsed or turned on.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: Advice to future maids of honor — avoid headlines

Unfortunately, both “Weekend Update” character segments felt underbaked this week. Sherman played another oversexualized pop-culture meme in an elaborate costume — the negligent mother of Punch, the baby monkey — hitting on Jost in hopes of getting pregnant. A little better, but still rough, was Slowikowska as Katie, the maid of honor at a wedding who makes jokes about the proceedings that play off of major news headlines, like cartel violence in Mexico, the Epstein files or the ongoing war in Ukraine. This one feels like it probably sounded really funny and smart at the table read, but it landed with a thud for the audience because the premise was so muddled.

Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says Iran’s attacks on US targets across the region are legitimate defensive actions.

Iran is entitled to defend itself from Israeli and US attacks, the spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stressed.

“We have every right in accordance with international law, with the UN Charter, to defend ourselves with all might”, Esmaeil Baghaei said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday.

The US and Israel launched a wave of attacks across multiple Iranian cities, including Tehran, on Saturday, in what US President Donald Trump described as “major combat operations”.

At least 201 people have been killed, according to Iranian media, citing the Red Crescent.

Iran responded by firing missiles towards Israel and US military targets in multiple countries, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Baghaei said the country’s armed forces “are defending national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Iran against these barbaric acts of aggression”.

The US-Israeli attacks came after a third round of indirect negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme between the US and Iran ended on Friday.

“We were supposed to meet on Monday to talk about technical aspects of any possible deal on [the] nuclear issue,” Baghaei said. “And the Americans themselves acknowledged that these negotiations went quite well. The mediator, [the] foreign minister of Oman, qualified this round of negotiations as being of significant progress.”

It was the second time in less than a year that diplomacy had been scuttled by an attack on Iran, Baghaei noted. Iran and the US had engaged in several rounds of negotiations last year, when Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran in June, which the US briefly joined, despite Trump saying he was committed to a diplomatic resolution.

Baghaei said the US “launching an act of aggression against another member of the United Nations” also threatened the international body, as its main pillar, “the UN Charter, is the provision of the use of force.”

“So, I think what is at stake is not only the security and peace of the region and that of Iran, but also the whole fabric of international law. And the normative system that has been created by the United Nations Charter,” he added.

Friends in the region

Baghaei defended Iran’s retaliatory attacks in several countries across the region.

“Under international law, any place, any location, any logistical support that are given to the aggressor [is a] legitimate target for the victim state,” he said. “So, we are not attacking any country in the region. We are friendly with all countries of the region. What we are doing is just taking defensive actions.”

“We have proven that we trust our friends in the region,” Baghaei said. “That’s why we try to get together with the countries of the region in furtherance of this diplomatic process. The problem is that the United States is conducting this war of aggression at the cost of everyone, including the countries of the region.”