US military says three of its service members killed in Iran operation

Three U.S. service members have been killed in action as part of U.S. military operations against Iran, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Sunday.

Five others were seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, it said.

Iranian top officials vowed Sunday to avenge their slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and declared a new wave of strikes on U.S. bases in the Gulf, defying U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of an unprecedented escalation in force.

As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city -- as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei's killing a "declaration of war against Muslims" and warned: "Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime."

Ali Larijani, the powerful head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, declared: "The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors."

In a social media post that adopted Trump's style and rhetoric, he warned: "YESTERDAY IRAN FIRED MISSILES AT THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL, AND THEY DID HURT. TODAY WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT THEY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE."

Meanwhile, blasts were heard in northern Tehran and smoke was seen emanating from a building, an AFP journalist reported. It was not immediately clear what the target was.

Unprecedented force threat

Earlier, cheers had been heard as some Iranians celebrated early reports of the death of their longtime leader, but -- after state media confirmed his killing -- pro-government demonstrations also formed, chanting "Death to America!".

As crowds demanded revenge -- and Iran's army announced strikes targeting U.S. bases in the Gulf and Iraqi Kurdistan -- Trump threatened to unleash "force that has never been seen before" and urged Iran's people to rise up and seize power.

Iran's first retaliatory strikes on Saturday had hit all the Gulf states apart from Oman, which had sought to mediate U.S.-Iran talks. But on Sunday the country's commercial port of Duqm was hit by two drones, injuring a foreign worker, the Oman News Agency said, with a tanker off the sultanate's coast also hit.

Outrage at Saturday's wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran, which killed 86-year-old Khamanei and some other senior figures, spilled over into neighboring Iraq and Pakistan, where crowds attempted to storm U.S. diplomatic missions.

In the Pakistani megacity of Karachi, at least 10 people were killed during pro-Iran protests at the U.S. consulate, according to Muhammad Amin, a spokesman for the Edhi Foundation rescue service, who added that most had bullet wounds.

In Iran, the Red Crescent said strikes had left 201 people dead and injured hundreds more.

Iran's judiciary confirmed that Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Khamenei, and the head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, were both killed.

Iran responded to the strikes with a flurry of missile and drone strikes across the Middle East, killing at least two people in Abu Dhabi and another in Tel Aviv, before following up with a new wave after state media confirmed Khamenei's death.