AP Photo Smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday.

U.S. – Israeli strikes on Iran continued for a second day Sunday after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threw the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raised the risk of regional instability. There were explosions in Tehran on Sunday as Israel said it was taking its attacks to the “heart” of Iran’s capital.

Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at Israel and at U.S. military installations around the Gulf, and also at the Saudi capital and the global business hub of Dubai. Earlier Sunday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever, targeting Israel and U.S. bases.

Iran also selected a 66-year-old cleric to join the three-member leadership council that will govern the country until a new supreme leader is selected.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that despite the attacks on his country, “nothing has changed in our … military capability.” He tells ABC’s “This Week” that in only a few hours after Iran was struck, Tehran retaliated against Israeli targets and American bases “and we have continued to do so. So, our military is in place. They are capable enough to defend our country.” Asked whether a diplomatic deal with the Trump administration was still possible, he said, “We negotiated with the United States twice in the past 12 months. And in both cases, they attacked us in the middle of negotiation. And that has become a very bitter experience for us.” He said “a deal was at our reach, and we left Geneva happily with the understanding that we can reach a deal next time we meet.”

At least nine people were killed in the Beit Shemesh region, according to Israeli police. It’s the deadliest attack on Israel since it launched attacks on Iran jointly with the U.S. on Saturday. The victims were sheltering in a safe room in the synagogue when a missile struck it, according to emergency responders, who said the number of dead could rise.

Residents said they want the war to continue. “Bibi and Trump well done,” said Hagit Ben Ezra, referring to the Israeli and American leaders. “Bibi Netanyahu has to kill Hamas and Iran so there’s quiet in the Middle East.”

Hundreds of protesters gathered at multiple locations in Istanbul to denounce the Israeli-U.S. attacks on Iran. A demonstration in front of Israel’s Consulate ended with protesters burning the U.S. and Israeli flags as well as posters of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We reject and denounce American oppression and America’s actions,” one of the protesters, Ahmet Agirakca, told The Associated Press. “We have gathered here not only to condemn but also to show that we will fight against them for the rest of our lives.”

Another protester, Ali Emre, said he was there to show solidarity with Muslims “and to protest Trump, the USA, and global imperialism.”

A doctor in northern Iran said he and colleagues spent the early hours of Sunday celebrating indoors news of the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, because armed security forces were heavily deployed in his city. Security forces were stopping and interrogating people celebrating in their cars, he said, but there was no gunfire.

“It was one of the best nights, if not the best night of our lives,” the doctor said in a voice message from the city of Rasht in northern Iran. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “It was actually my first time ever smoking a cigarette. … We didn’t sleep at all. And we don’t even feel tired.”

The U.S. military is pushing back against claims by Iran’s leadership that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was struck in an attack, stating that the “missiles launched didn’t even come close.” U.S. Central Command said in a post on X that the American warship continues to launch aircraft. The Lincoln is one of two aircraft carriers that the U.S. military has deployed to the region.

The U.S. military says three service members have been killed and five seriously wounded in the Iran operation. Central Command made the announcement on social media Sunday without providing additional information.

Sirens ring out periodically in Jerusalem to signal incoming missiles from Iran, but the warnings are received differently in different parts of the city. In the west of the city, where most Israelis live, the streets are relatively empty, though some kids could be seen running around in neighborhood playgrounds. It seemed Israelis are mainly staying close to home so they can get to shelters quickly if necessary.

In the east of the city, however, Palestinian residents go about their normal lives, shopping for meals during the holy month of Ramadan. There are some public shelters in east Jerusalem but they are far less common than in the west.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said that the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is creating uncertainty about the trajectory of the conflict. “We have had very little visibility into what happens next after the supreme leader is eliminated,” Warner told CNN on Sunday. “I think we still don’t know what is happening next.”

Warner said he hoped the Iranian people would rise up, but he didn’t believe that would be the outcome. He said the fear is that the U.S. is seeing the “opening salvos” of “what could be a sustained war in the region.”

Iraq has for years tried to balance a delicate relationship with both the U.S. and Iran, and has called for an end to the conflict and a return to dialogue. Iran’s retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases have struck a handful of cities across the Mideast, several in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.

A leading U.S. senator says he fears that President Donald Trump will cause “a more repressive, more aggressive Iranian regime” by “choosing the path of war when diplomacy was still within reach.” Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also says he hopes “our national security apparatus is as prepared as it can be for attacks anywhere in the world against the United States and our interests.”

Coons says he understands Trump “taking a bold gamble” given how “weak” the Iranian leadership was, “but I disagree with this gamble at this point.”

OPEC Plus, a group of eight oil-producing countries, says it will increase oil production by 206,000 barrels a day in April in an effort to mitigate the impact on oil prices during the latest conflict in the Middle East. The group, which includes Arab Gulf countries and Russia, has said in a statement that its members will “closely monitor and assess market conditions, and in their continuous efforts to support market stability.”

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that a new leadership council “has begun its work” after the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Pezeshkian made the comment in a prerecorded message aired on Iranian state television. Pezeshkian is one of three officials on the council. The other two are head of judiciary cleric Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei and Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi.

A second vessel has come under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, according to an agency of the British military. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center said that the attack happened off Mina Saqr, United Arab Emirates. It said that the vessel had been hit by a projectile that caused a fire. The blaze was extinguished and the vessel will continue on its way. Another vessel earlier in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran also came under attack. The attacks come as Iranian officials reportedly have been threatening vessels transiting the strait over the radio.

The Strait of Hormuz sees a fifth of the world’s traded oil pass through it.

1 killed, 20 wounded in Kuwait in latest barrage from Iran

Kuwait’s Ministry of Health says one person has been killed and 20 people have been wounded in new retaliatory attacks by Iran.

The United Arab Emirates’ Defense Ministry said Sunday that three people have been killed so far in Iranian attacks on the country. The ministry said Iran had launched 165 ballistic missiles targeting the country, of which 152 were destroyed. Thirteen fell into the sea, it added. Iran launched 541 bomb-carrying drones at the UAE, of which 506 were destroyed. Another 35 struck the country, killing three people from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, while 58 others were wounded. Iran fired 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones at Kuwait since the start of the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, the Gulf nation’s military said. The military said in a statement interception operations led to shrapnel falling in parts of the county, causing “limited damage.”

Israel’s police said at least five people were killed and 23 others wounded in a strike that hit central Israel on Sunday. A spokesperson for the rescue services said searches were ongoing for additional victims. Iran has so far launched dozens of rockets at Israel.

Saudi Arabia summons Iranian ambassador following repeated Iranian attacks on the kingdom. The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the country expressed “dismay, condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian attacks on the kingdom and the Gulf states.” It added that the kingdom “will take all necessary measures to defend its security and protect its territory.” Saudi Arabia has condemned in “the strongest terms” Iran’s attacks on the capital, Riyadh and the eastern region, which it said were “successfully intercepted.” The Saudi foreign ministry said Sunday in a statement the attacks came “despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”

U.S. embassies and consulates across the Middle East instructed employees to shelter in place for a second day on Sunday as joint U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran continue and Iran launches missile and drone strikes in retaliation. Embassies in Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia all advised private American citizens living or traveling in those countries to take similar precautions. The State Department on Saturday issued a “worldwide caution,” warning Americans abroad everywhere, but particularly in the Middle East, to boost their personal security profiles. “Following the launch of U.S. combat operations in Iran, Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East should follow the guidance in the latest security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate,” it said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country will have “a non-stop air train” of strikes against military and leadership targets in Iran. Israel launched massive strikes that rocked Iran’s capital of Tehran on Sunday morning. Iran simultaneously launched multiple projectiles toward Israel. An Israeli military spokesperson said Sunday that he is not aware of any Israeli or American strikes in the area of a school in southern Iran where more than 100 people died.

State-run IRNA news agency said a strike hit an all-girls school in the town of Minab on Saturday. On Saturday, U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said he was “aware of reports” and that the U.S. is investigating.