| | Iranian state TV has confirmed the death of the Ayatollah | | Akhtar Makoii Foreign Correspondent | At 9.55am Tehran time, the first bomb hit Ali Khamenei’s office. Within minutes, the presidential palace, parliament, defence ministry, and command centres of the Revolutionary Guards across the Iranian capital were all struck. By the end of the day, the supreme leader was dead, according to Israeli officials.
The Iranian diaspora around the world marked the moment by dancing in the streets, sharing joyful videos on social media from across the UK, Europe, America and Australia.
Some in Tehran said: “The devil is dead, thank you US and Israel for standing on the right side of history.”
The United States and Israel had launched a more intensive operation than last June’s 12-day war – a multi-day assault designed to dismantle Iran’s entire military and political infrastructure. | Trump monitoring strikes in the Mar-a-Largo situation room | Iran hit back fast. Operation True Promise 4 claimed strikes on 14 American bases across the Middle East. The Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain is on fire. A five-star hotel on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah has been hit.
Iranian missiles are targeting Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem. | Flames rise at Fairmont The Palm Dubai hotel after it was hit by debris from an intercepted Iranian missile | The Strait of Hormuz – the artery through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil flows – has been declared closed to all shipping.
Trump launched the attack during nuclear negotiations. Hours before the bombs fell, Iran and America’s envoys were in Geneva for what Tehran’s foreign minister called “one of the most serious rounds” of talks. Technical teams were due in Vienna on Monday.
Then, on Saturday, the bombs began to fall.
This morning, Iran has launched a large-scale attack on 27 US military bases and Israeli defence installations, according to state media.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to “take a different and tough step of revenge” after promising to conduct “the most devastating offensive” in Iranian history.
What happens next could reshape the Middle East, the global economy, and the balance of world power for a generation.
Continue reading ➤
Live updates: Iran launches ‘most devastating offensive’ in its history ➤
Roland Oliphant: The eight-month plot that led to Trump’s attack on Iran ➤
David Blair: With Khamenei dead, Iran is on the verge of a bloody fight for power ➤ | | The Quantity Theory of Morality is the latest novel from Will Self (pictured in his home in south London) |  | Mick Brown Features Writer | It’s quite an intimidating prospect to interview Will Self. Novelist, essayist, broadcaster and provocateur, Self is a man of strong opinions and a vocabulary that frequently has you wishing you had a dictionary to hand and reaching for one afterwards. He is also stimulating and enjoyable company.
Self is suffering from cancer and his movements and social life are necessarily circumscribed – particularly difficult for a man who so relishes discussion and argument.
Our conversation lasted for almost three hours. It finally concluded on the pavement outside his home as he was bidding me goodbye, with Self entertaining me with stories about his neighbours and keen to get his points across.
He is a man who divides opinion and has made enemies because of them, but remains a vibrant contributor to the British literary scene and the public square.
Continue reading ➤ | | Jake Wallis-Simons Starmer’s response to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran was more Chamberlain than Churchill Continue reading ➤ Nigel Farage Family voting is a monstrous attack on our democracy Continue reading ➤ Robin Aitken Deborah Turness has revealed the extraordinary delusion at the heart of the BBC Continue reading ➤ | | To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here. | | Three of the Chagossians living on Ile du Coin | | It’s hard to imagine when you’re stood on the beach on Ile du Coin, with its impossibly white sand and its crystal clear waters, that this tiny little island is at the centre of a great, ugly political row, writes Robert Mendick, our Chief Reporter.
The island, part of the Chagos Archipelago, is currently being occupied by six Chagossians, who want to make a permanent settlement there. The British Government, however, wants to boot them out and give the islands to Mauritius.
On Thursday, after a tricky 36 hours at sea, I reached the island to meet its new residents, the first to inhabit the island since the British sent 3,000 Chagossians into exile almost 60 years ago. I found a community of men, young and old, who were just happy to be home. Their wandering is over. For now at least.
Continue reading ➤ | |  | | In your 20s and 30s you can sleep under a table at a party, but as you age, so many variables such as snoring, brain circuitry and hormones can shatter a good night’s rest. Three sleep experts share 10 tips to get back on track. Continue reading ➤ | | | At last night’s Brit Awards, Olivia Dean won in every category she was nominated for | | It didn’t surprise anyone last night when Olivia Dean was crowned the all-conquering star of the 2026 Brit Awards. Her soulful music aims for timelessness not trendiness, and, as our chief music critic Neil McCormick explains, it might be exactly what our turbulent times need. Continue reading ➤ | | | Two successive dismal defeats have not just scuppered England’s Six Nations campaign but cemented them as serial under-performers, writes Oliver Brown, our Chief Sports Writer. One Grand Slam in 23 years represents a pitiful return for a nation of such reach and resources. Rugby remains the one sport where England should, on the strength of raw numbers, be a juggernaut. Oliver Brown asks why, in the tournament that many supporters cherish above all else, they are still flattering to deceive. Continue reading ➤ | | | When a Telegraph reader emailed the From the Editor team to request a guide on estate planning options for people who don’t have children, we were only too happy to oblige. While Britain’s inheritance tax system is far more generous towards families, there are still plenty of ways to minimise your tax burden. Continue reading ➤ Here are two more another helpful articles for you this morning:
- Dark chocolate has a host of impressive health benefits, but not all bars are created equal – here’s how to choose wisely.
- What makes a good war novel? Historical research, but no shoehorned lists of facts; battle sequences, but only if they’re carried out by realistic, fleshed-out characters. Saul David reveals his 20 favourites here.
|  | Every week, Sarah Knapton, our Science Editor, and Joe Pinkstone, our Science Correspondent, demystify your supernatural experiences. From ghoulish encounters to bizarre coincidences, there’s always a scientific explanation and nothing is as strange as it seems.
A baffled reader writes...
“I do not believe in ghosts and am not into spirituality, but I have had a curious experience.
“My 96-year-old mother had died a few weeks previously and I was in the process of clearing out her house. In the kitchen was a small, white battery-powered receiver box for her wireless doorbell.
“I walked near to the receiver and it started ringing wildly, not just the ‘ding dong’ it usually did, but it repeatedly sounded over the course of 10 or 15 seconds. I went to the door immediately. No one there.
“The drive is relatively long and no one would have had time to ring and clear the drive in the time it took me to check, even assuming they rang and didn’t wait for a reply. I thought it was a little strange, but carried on clearing a few bits and pieces. When I went near the receiver, it happened again. Again I checked the door. Again, no one there.
“The same thing happened two or three more times. It never happened after that day and I still have the receiver.”
– Suzanne
Sarah and Joe answer:
The phrase “ghost in the machine” was coined in 1949 by English philosopher Gilbert Ryle to attack René Descartes’s dualistic proposition that the mind is a separate entity to the body.
However, the expression could equally apply to this week’s mystery, with reader Suzanne querying whether an inanimate doorbell could really be haunted by the ghost of her dead mother.
There is certainly something quite touching about the spirit of a lost loved one ringing a doorbell, perhaps trying to get back into their home, or signal to a grieving relative that they are not totally gone.
Read the full answer here ➤
Plus, send in your questions for Sarah and Joe here ➤ | | Aged 26 in 1953: ‘Few people combine knowledge, elegance and common sense as effortlessly as Drusilla Beyfus,’ wrote Paul Johnson |  | Jessamy Calkin Features writer | I started working with Drusilla Beyfus when I first joined the Telegraph Magazine, in the late 90s. I was aware of her reputation and her vast experience. A pioneer in her field, she had worked for a wide variety of newspapers and magazines, written several books and was known as “Miss Manners”. | Modern Manners: The Essential Guide to Living in the 90s was published in 1992 | Drusilla was by then in her early 70s but she was forever young at heart; she did not give in to old age. Her eccentricities occasionally betrayed this – she had a habit of talking very loudly on the phone, especially if she was speaking to someone abroad, and we would all relish the conversations that ensued.
Her nickname was “Wise Owl”, and you could talk to Drusilla about anything: gossip, culture, sex, etiquette, gardens. She would have an anecdote or a dry observation about anyone you cared to mention – from Banksy to Lord Beaverbrook – there were no limits.
She was endlessly curious, always interested in how you were, what you were doing, how your children were getting on. She could be blunt, she could be critical, but she could also be teased. If you ever gave her a compliment she would hold her hand up and say “Don’t speak! Don’t speak!” I can hear her whispering it now.
Read Drusilla’s obituary here ➤ | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was EQUIVOCAL. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Allister Heath, Sunday Telegraph Editor
P.S. Please share your thoughts on the newsletter here. | |
.png){kind=icon}
.jpg)
