In a stunning escalation that has sent shockwaves through the Middle East and beyond, President Donald Trump announced on February 28, 2026, that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major joint U.S.-Israeli military strike. The operation, which unfolded during the holy month of Ramadan and at the start of Iran’s workweek, targeted the very heart of Iran’s political and military leadership, marking a watershed moment in the region’s volatile history.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead,” Trump declared in a social media post, describing the assassination as the “single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country.” According to Associated Press and Axios, the strike was the result of months of meticulous planning and intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Israel. Trump promised that the campaign would continue with “heavy and pinpoint bombing” throughout the week and possibly beyond, justifying the offensive as necessary to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
The immediate aftermath in Tehran was surreal. Eyewitnesses told AP that some residents took to the streets in celebration, whistling and ululating in apparent relief or joy. Yet, the Iranian government did not immediately confirm Khamenei’s death, even as reports from Israeli and U.S. officials, as well as outlets like Axios, stated his body had been recovered from his destroyed compound in the capital. The operation also claimed the lives of Iran’s defense minister, intelligence chief, the head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the secretary of the Iranian Security Council, effectively decapitating the regime’s top leadership.
The strike’s timing was as symbolic as it was strategic. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Israel’s focus was on “decapitation strikes and military targets,” while the U.S. targeted command facilities, missile and drone launch sites, air defense systems, and military airfields. The U.S. military reported no casualties among its personnel and minimal damage at its bases, despite “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks” in retaliation. Within hours, Iran launched a barrage of at least 35 missiles at Israel, and sent drones and missiles toward U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as reported by ISW and TIME.
The region braced for chaos. Explosions echoed near Tehran’s Intelligence Ministry, and in southern Iran, a girls’ school was struck, killing at least 115 people, according to local officials cited by Iranian state TV. IRNA, Iran’s state news agency, reported at least 15 deaths in the southwest, including casualties from strikes on a sports hall, residential areas, and a venue near a school. Across the Gulf, air defense fire thundered over Dubai, where shrapnel from an Iranian missile killed one person. Bahrain’s capital and other cities suffered damage from drone strikes and intercepted missiles, while Kuwait’s airport and air base were also hit, injuring several. Saudi Arabia and Jordan reported repelling or “dealing with” dozens of drones and missiles.
The joint operation, according to Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, struck “hundreds of targets across Iran.” Trump, in a video address, urged the Iranian people to “take over your government” once the bombing ceased, promising that “the hour of your freedom is at hand.” He warned the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to lay down arms, offering immunity or “certain death” if they resisted. “This is not only justice for the people of Iran,” Trump wrote, “but for all Great Americans, and those people from many countries throughout the world, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty thugs.”
Iran’s leadership, however, was quick to promise retribution. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, posted on X, “The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors.” Iran’s military, anticipating decapitation strikes, had already flattened its chain of command, pushing decision-making to lower-ranking officers—a move that allowed for a rapid response. “Iran has responded to the US and Israeli strikes with unprecedented speed,” ISW noted, a stark contrast to the slower retaliation seen after the 12-day war the previous year.
The attack has thrown Iran into a potential succession crisis. Khamenei, who succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, ruled Iran with an iron grip for more than three decades, consolidating power over the theocracy and its paramilitary arms. According to Axios, Israel’s strikes left the country’s leadership in disarray, with the constitutional council of clerics now facing the daunting task of selecting a new supreme leader amid chaos and uncertainty. Trump told NBC News, “The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone.”
Yet, experts warn that Khamenei’s death does not guarantee regime change. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains a powerful force, and other hard-liners could step into the vacuum. As TIME reported, Iran’s repressive apparatus has survived previous crises, including the brutal crackdown on nationwide protests just weeks before the strike—a crackdown that killed thousands, with numbers ranging from 3,000 acknowledged by the government to over 7,000 confirmed by human rights groups, and as many as 30,000 according to some sources.
The broader implications are profound. Trump’s administration had long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program, despite U.S. intelligence assessments that Khamenei halted weapons development in 2003. After a U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in June 2025, Trump declared the country’s nuclear capacity “obliterated,” yet insisted that “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Iran was secretly seeking a bomb.
The conflict’s ripple effects threaten global markets. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of the world’s seaborne oil exports pass, could become a flashpoint if Iran seeks to disrupt commercial traffic. Regional powers, already on edge, have braced for further instability. Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled a planned trip to Israel in the wake of the strikes, underscoring the uncertainty gripping U.S. allies.
Trump has signaled multiple paths forward, telling Axios he could “go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: ‘See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding [your nuclear and missile programs].’” He predicted it would take Iran years to recover from the assault.
As the dust settles and the world watches for Iran’s next move, the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei marks the end of an era—and the beginning of a perilous new chapter for Iran and the entire region.