What's happening in Iran?
- Published
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader who ruled Iran for nearly 40 years, has been killed in an attack launched by the US and Israel.
BBC correspondent Jon Donnison called the former leader's death "a huge moment for the Islamic nation".
It comes after a day of US-Israeli missile strikes on Iran.
Read on for more information about what we know, and the background to Iran and its relationships with the United States and Israel.
What happened?
Attacks have continued across Iran, including in its capital city Tehran
On Saturday morning, the US and Israel began an attack on Iran, a country in the Middle East.
Announcing the strikes, President Trump said it was to try and remove a threat from the Iranian regime.
Iran retaliated with attacks on Israel and on Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates - nearby countries that have ties to the US.
After strikes landed in cities across Iran, US President Donald Trump announced that the country's Supreme Leader had been killed.
He called it "the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country".
The news was later confirmed by presenters on Iranian state TV channels.
Who was the Supreme Leader?
Ali Khamenei was the overall ruler of Iran who had his first important role after an event called the Islamic Revolution.
This happened in 1979. Iran's new leaders called it an "Islamic Republic", their name for a form of government based on their interpretations of Islam.
Ten years later, Khamenei became the Supreme Leader, a name given to a religious figure who had the final say in how Iran was run.
Some Iranians around the world have been celebrating, like these people in Australia
Some people have been mourning his death, with images from news agencies showing Iranians on the streets holding photos of Khamenei.
But others who opposed him have been celebrating the news. In January, the regime cracked down hard on protests against the leadership.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams said that "This huge, proud nation seems destined for a period of dangerous instability."
Why did these strikes happen?
The leaders of Israel and the US meeting in December last year
The US and Israel have traditionally been allies, or friends, and often work together as partners.
Israel and Iran have been enemies for a long time, and in recent years the tension between them has resulted in military attacks on each other.
US President Trump says that the attack was to try and stop Iran from making extremely powerful bombs called nuclear weapons - something that Iran denies it's doing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called this a threat to both Israel and the US.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the attack unprovoked and illegal.
Was the UK involved?
The UK Prime Minister gave a speech after the attacks
In a statement, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the UK had played no role in the US-Israeli strikes.
He added that the UK would "protect our people, our interests, and our allies - as Britain has done before, in line with international law."
Other figures from political parties in the UK have been reacting to the news.
Speaking to the BBC, Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said that she "absolutely" welcomed the US-Israeli action, saying that Iran has "sponsored terror around the world".
In a meeting of different nations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the fighting to stop, saying that it undermines "international peace and security"
Reform UK's leader Nigel Farage wrote on social media platform X that the UK needs to "back the Americans in this vital fight against Iran".
Green Party leader Zack Polanski told the BBC that whilst "we've seen the end of a brutal, murderous dictator", he is "worried we're going to be pulled into another illegal war", saying "we need to listen to Iranian voices".
And the Lib Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said "Donald Trump's unilateral and illegal military action won't deliver freedom, peace and security."
