Learning English

(Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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The story

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, at least 1,097 civilians have been killed in Iran, says a human rights organisation based in the US.

The US and Israel are continuing to carry out air strikes in Iran, and Iran has responded by firing missiles at Israel and other countries in the region with links to the US. Iran has hit military targets, but it has also hit airports and other civilian sites like luxury hotels and shopping malls.

The lack of detail in US President Donald Trump’s plan has been criticised by politicians in the US congress. 

News headlines

Sweeping assault on Iranian state leaves residents reeling
The Financial Times

Allies of US in the Gulf bear brunt of Iran attacks
BBC News

No one can predict how the US war with Iran will unfold
The Gaurdian 

Key words and phrases

sweeping
affecting many things or people at once

• The new government wants to bring in sweeping changes – they want to change lots of things.

bear the brunt
be most affected by a bad situation

• Customer service employees bear the brunt of angry complaints on the phone.

unfold
develop or be revealed

• When the storm hit, we watched everything unfold on the news. 

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