Iranian ‘dictator’ death celebrated on air by Sky News Australia presenter, telling him to ‘rot in hell’

Sky News Australia host and former Iranian citizen Rita Panahi celebrated the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a scathing rebuke on air Saturday.

“This will be the shortest editorial I’ll ever deliver,” the “Outsiders” co-host said. “All I have to say is that after 47 years of Islamist tyranny, the dictator is dead, and Iran is on the verge of being liberated. I never thought I would see this day in my lifetime.”

She concluded her comments with what she called “gibberish Persian” that roughly translates to “Your father is a dog, dirt be on your head and rot in hell.” Her co-anchor Rowan Dean concurred and noted that the news was personal for Panahi.

“We have seen the pain that you have gone through with everything that’s been happening in Iran the whole time I’ve known you, and to hear you positive is just so good. It’s just so fantastic,” Dean said.

Panahi left Iran when she was a child and reiterated that, although she knew the regime would be toppled eventually, she never thought she would live to see it.

“If I went to Iran today, last week, I’d be trapped in prison and dead rather quickly… They would know what I’ve said about the regime, what I’ve written over many things and said on programs like this, so I’ve never been able to go back,” Panahi said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

She added that she has not been able to visit family or bring her son to see the country and complimented President Donald Trump for taking the opportunity to topple the leader during an election year.

“Again, when I talk about Donald Trump and his courage in doing this… to do this in an election year with the midterms looming, this is not a popular course of action. It’s not even popular among many on his own side, who don’t want America to be involved in Iran’s internal politics to be seeking regime change. So for him to do this is such an enormous risk, but it’s the right thing to do even at personal political cost,” Panahi said.

LONGTIME TRUMP CRITIC GEORGE CONWAY SUGGESTS US IS ‘TERRORIST STATE’ AFTER IRAN STRIKES

Fox News Digital reached out to Sky News Australia for comment.

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed dead, along with 5-10 top leaders, after an Israeli strike in Tehran as part of a massive coordinated U.S.-Israeli military offensive called “Operation Epic Fury” announced early Saturday morning.

Tomahawks, B-2 stealth bombers and attack drones pound over 1,000 Iranian targets in 24-hour blitz

U.S. forces launched a sweeping military assault on Iranian targets on Saturday, unleashing overwhelming air, sea and missile power in a coordinated operation with Israel.

The mission — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” — began at 1:15 a.m. and struck more than 1,000 sites across Iran within its first 24 hours, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior regime officials were eliminated in the strikes.

The barrage featured B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 and F-16 fighter jets, A-10 attack aircraft, EA-18G electronic warfare planes, and an array of airborne early warning and communications platforms, CENTCOM said.

Missile defense systems, including Patriot interceptors and THAAD anti-ballistic missile defenses, were deployed as part of the operation.

Other assets included RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones, HIMARS rocket systems, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, refueling tankers, and C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft, CENTCOM said.

The command also released images of Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as F-18 and F-35 fighter jets roaring into combat, according to Reuters.

CENTCOM additionally confirmed it deployed one-way attack drones in combat for the first time.

DOZENS OF TOP IRANIAN REGIME OFFICIALS, SUPREME LEADER KILLED IN ISRAELI STRIKES

The Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System — known as LUCAS — is modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones.

“CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike — for the first time in history — is using one-way attack drones in combat during Operation Epic Fury,” CENTCOM wrote on X. “These low-cost drones, modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, are now delivering American-made retribution.”

Developed by Arizona-based engineering firm SpektreWorks, the LUCAS drone can be launched from catapults, vehicles or mobile ground platforms, according to Business Insider. 

The drones cost roughly $35,000 each, Reuters reported.

KEY MILITARY SITES TARGETED INSIDE IRAN AS PART OF COORDINATED US-ISRAELI STRIKES

The strikes targeted command and control centers, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Joint Headquarters and Aerospace Forces Headquarters, integrated air defense systems, ballistic missile sites, Iranian Navy ships and submarines, anti-ship missile sites and military communications infrastructure, according to CENTCOM.

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Iran retaliated by launching waves of missiles across the Middle East, targeting major U.S. bases in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, Business Insider reported.

Three U.S. service members were killed and five others were “seriously wounded” as part of Operation Epic Fury, CENTCOM said Sunday morning. The joint military operation is expected to carry on for days.

CENTCOM did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

McCarthy urges Democrats to ‘do your job’ as DHS funding stall heightens security concerns

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is sounding alarms as the FBI places its counterterrorism teams on high alert, warning Democrats that stalling funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could carry serious national security consequences.

“If there is some type of attack within America, it is going to be on the Democrats who faulted by not funding DHS during this critical time andallowing the border to be open during [the Biden administration],” McCarthy told “The Sunday Briefing.”

“If I was a Democrat – I usually don’t like to give them advice, but this is too critical for the security of America – go back to Washington, fund DHS now,” he said.

McCarthy’s comments came Sunday, as American counterterrorism agencies quietly monitored suspected sleeper cells on U.S. soil in the wake of joint U.S.–Israel strikes on Iran.

The strikes resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior Iranian officials.

The offensive measure also led to the U.S. adversary vowing retaliation and a myriad of warnings from security experts like former assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker, who told Fox News, “If ever there’s going to have a Hezbollah cell or a Hamas cell act in the United States in a violent way, it’s now.”

The FBI said a mass shooting in Austin, Texas, that left three people dead, including the shooter, and 14 others injured early Sunday is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism.

DHS FUNDING STALEMATE THAWS AS WHITE HOUSE SENDS DEMOCRATS ‘SERIOUS’ COUNTEROFFER

Federal law enforcement sources told Fox News the suspect, a 53-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Senegal, was wearing clothing that said “Allah” on it and an undershirt featuring an Iranian flag.

McCarthy criticized Democrats’ push for a vote on War Powers resolutions as a “very stupid play” as DHS funding remains stalled.

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“Here’s the Democrats, who first voted to fund DHS and then voted against the exact same bill where it shut down. So the Coast Guard – it’s not being funded [neither are] the Secret Service [nor] the TSA…” he said.

McCarthy urged Democrats to “do your job” and “protect Americans in their homeland.”

Trump’s Iran strike rocks Texas Senate race as Dems demand ‘war powers,’ GOP applauds president

SAN ANTONIO, TX – With hours to go until primary day in Texas, the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran is the latest flashpoint in Lone Star State’s high-stakes and combustible Senate showdown.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn and his two primary challengers are rallying around President Donald Trump‘s decision to launch the attacks, which are now in their second day and resulted in the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Three American military members were also killed in the fighting.

But the two Democrats vying for their party’s nomination in a bid to try and flip the long-held Republican seat in right-leaning Texas are condemning the airstrikes on Iran.

This year’s Senate showdown in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

“I think the President did the right thing. It’s amazing to me that President Trump is the only president in my lifetime that is willing to take this kind of decisive action in order to stop the halt of terrorism and also radical Islam,” Cornyn said Sunday in a Fox News Digital interview.

Cornyn praised the operation, saying “this was well planned and was very decisive.” But he added, “There’s still a lot more to be done, and unfortunately, Iran still has a lot of ability to inflict casualties on people in the region.”

The senator’s top primary rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, thanked Trump for his “courageous leadership.”

Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and longtime Trump supporter who has survived a slew of scandals over the past decade, said in a social media post that “President Trump’s Operation Epic Fury is yet another overwhelming and historic military success. Khamenei’s been killed and the terroristic regime threatening our troops and nation has been decimated.”

IRAN’S NEAR HALF CENTURY WAR ON AMERICANS

Rep. Wesley Hunt, the Army veteran turned MAGA rising star, also praised the president, saying, “Trump did it again. PEACE THROUGH AMERICAN STRENGTH!”

“Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is DEAD, and now the people of Iran have a chance to be free,” added Hunt, a West Point graduate who flew Apache helicopters during his Army service who is in his second term representing a safe Republican district in the Houston-area.

Trump, whose clout over the GOP remains immense, has stayed neutral to date in the Republican primary. All three candidates, who have sought the president’s endorsement, were in attendance Friday as Trump held an event in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”

Trump also complimented Hunt, and said that all three contenders were engaged in an “interesting election.”

DEMS’ POTENTIAL 2028 HOPEFULS COME OUT AGAINST US STRIKES ON IRAN

The two major Democrats in the race, progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett and rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico, are chastising Trump for not seeking congressional approval.

“CONGRESS, not the PRESIDENT, but CONGRESS has the EXCLUSIVE authority to declare war! Speaker Johnson needs to call us in IMMEDIATELY & it is time for the House & the Senate to pass a war powers resolution!” Crockett wrote on social media this weekend.

And Crockett, a vocal Trump critic and foil, asked, “Why is it that this President refuses to even pretend that he cares about following the law?! I’ve been stomping & telling people that this election is life or death!”

Talarico, taking to social media this weekend, emphasized, “No more forever wars.”

But he didn’t make specific comments about the military strikes during a campaign event Sunday in San Antonio, Texas.

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Cornyn criticized the Democratic candidates for not supporting the U.S. operation.

“When the President has, in an act of political courage, ordered the U.S. military, along with our ally Israel, to defeat the number one state sponsor of terrorism and to prevent them from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Whose side do they choose? They choose the Iranian side. It’s just mind-boggling to me,” he argued.

And the senator predicted, “this will continue to be an issue in the midterm elections, because I don’t think that’s what the American people want, to live in a new world where a nuclear-armed terrorist state can literally terrorize not just the region but the world.”