An Iranian missile attack on the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh, 30 kilometers west of Jerusalem, has killed at least nine people and wounded dozens more. The strikes reportedly targeted an army headquarters and a weapons manufacturing complex.
More than 3,400 flights were canceled Sunday across 7 airports in the Middle East, according to flight tracker Flightradar24. Airports in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain were among those closed.
A suspected drug dealer has been arrested after hiding for 13 years.
The suspect was nabbed by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over cocaine and heroin shipments said to be linked to him.
Disclosing this in a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said he was first arrested in 2013 for cocaine trafficking and arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/187c/2923.
Babafemi noted that the suspect jumped bail after being released and went underground.
According to the anti-narcotics agency, his name resurfaced in February 2024 as one of the masterminds behind the importation of 49.70 kilogrammes of heroin from South Africa.
READ ALSO: Navy Hands Over 500kg Of Suspected Cannabis To NDLEA
“After 13 years in hiding, a notorious drug kingpin, Reginald Peter Chidiebere, has been taken into custody following the seizure of large consignments of cocaine and heroin linked to him by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos,” the statement read.
“The drug lord was first arrested in 2013 over the shipment of cocaine into Nigeria and was subsequently arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court Lagos in charge no. FHC/L/187c/2923. He however, jumped bail and went into hiding after the trial judge granted him bail in 2013 and has since remained at large.
“In February 2024, his name featured prominently as one of the masterminds of the shipment of 49.70 kilograms of heroin imported from South Africa following the interception of the consignment by NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Lagos airport.
“A follow-up operation was carried out on 19th February 2024 at his Golden Platinum Hotel & Suites, located at No. 16/18 Reginald Peter Chidiebere Street, Hope Estate, Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, where an additional 2.20 kilograms of heroin was recovered from one of his guests, Igbuanugo Ebuka ThankGod. As a result, Chidiebere went underground. The agency however, secured the interim forfeiture of his hotel and blocked all bank accounts traced to him since 2024.
“Following these developments, Chidiebere could no longer sustain himself in hiding, prompting his surrender to the agency on 13th February 2026, and he has since been taken into custody to face his pending charges for which he jumped bail in 2013 and fresh charges based on the 2024 heroin consignments linked to him.”
In a related development, NDLEA operatives in Imo State dismantled a clandestine laboratory at Isiozi Obiato, Umuaka, in Njaba Local Government Area, where 18.4kg of methamphetamine, precursor chemicals and production equipment were recovered.
“Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Imo state on Wednesday, 25th February 2026 dismantled a clandestine laboratory tucked in Isiozi Obiato, Umuaka, Njaba local government area of the state where 18.4 kilograms of methamphetamine were recovered along with a large quantity of precursor chemicals and equipment used in the production of the illicit substance,” Babafemi stated.
Iranian top officials vowed Sunday to avenge their slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and declared a new wave of strikes on US bases in the Gulf, defying US 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.
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 US 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 US-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 US and Israeli strikes against Iran, which killed 86-year-old Khamanei and some other senior figures, spilled over into neighbouring Iraq and Pakistan, where crowds attempted to storm US diplomatic missions.
In the Pakistani megacity of Karachi, at least eight people were killed during pro-Iran protests at the US 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.
Iran had already seen intense speculation on a successor to Khamenei, given his age. Upon his death, many observers expected greater power for the Revolutionary Guards, which are deeply entrenched in the Iranian economy.
Pezeshkian and two other top officials would lead Iran in the transitional period following Khamenei’s death, state television said Sunday.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late pro-Western shah deposed in the 1979 Islamic revolution, said any successor within the system would be illegitimate.
Hailing the demise of Khamenei, Pahlavi said: “With his death, the Islamic Republic has effectively come to an end and will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.”
Pahlavi, who has spent most of his life in exile near Washington, has presented himself as a transitional figure to a secular democracy, but he does not enjoy support from across the opposition.
Iranian state media confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, was killed in a joint US-Israeli air strike. Here’s what we know about him and the key moments that defined his rule.
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At least nine people have been killed after an Iranian missile strike on the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, as Tehran continued to launch retaliatory attacks a day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes.
The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said on Sunday that nine people were killed and 20 other people were injured by the impact, including two in serious condition.
The Israeli military said in a statement that search and rescue teams, and a helicopter to evacuate those injured are currently operating in Beit Shemesh, with the army’s spokesperson adding that the circumstances of the impact from the Iranian ballistic missile are under review.