"Justice Served": Israel Says Khamenei Is Dead — Iran Declares 40 Days of Mourning

In a seismic turn that reshapes the Middle East, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US–Israeli strike on Tehran Saturday morning. The man who ruled Iran for 37 years is gone — and the shockwaves are only beginning.

By The World Report Desk • Published: 28 Feb 2026, 11:45 PM IST • Updated Live

"Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead."[1]

— U.S. President Donald Trump, Truth Social, February 28, 2026

 

It was just after sunrise in Tehran when the explosions began. Thick plumes of smoke climbed above the Iranian capital's skyline, and phone communications flickered out across swaths of the city — a near-total internet blackout confirmed by NetBlocks shortly after.[1] By the time the world had caught its breath, one of the most consequential moments in modern Middle Eastern history had already unfolded: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran for nearly four decades, was dead.

Israeli and American forces struck simultaneously in the early hours of Saturday, February 28, targeting multiple gatherings of Iran's senior leadership across Tehran. According to a senior Israeli military official, three separate meetings of top Iranian officials were struck at once — the product of what the official described as "thousands of hours" of joint intelligence work between Tel Aviv and Washington.[2]

Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei was killed at his workplace inside the Beit Rahbari compound.[3] The announcement, when it finally came from Tehran, was somber and defiant in equal measure: "The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran was martyred at his workplace... He was carrying out his assigned duties and present at his office at the moment of martyrdom."

A Strike Years in the Making

The roots of Saturday's assault stretch back to October 7, 2023, when Hamas — an Iran-backed militant group — launched a devastating attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. What followed was a cascade of events that steadily eroded Iran's strategic position: the decimation of Hezbollah's top leadership in Lebanon, the dismantling of Hamas's military infrastructure in Gaza, and the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria — a key Iranian ally who fled to Russia in January 2025.

By mid-2025, Israel had already struck Iran's nuclear program directly, destroying key enrichment facilities and eliminating senior scientists and generals. In June of that year, the United States joined, launching massive airstrikes on three major nuclear sites. President Trump had declared them "completely and totally obliterated," though nuclear experts cautioned that Iran's program had been damaged rather than fully destroyed.

Through all of it, Khamenei played for time. Analysts note that the Supreme Leader fundamentally misjudged the new geopolitical landscape — particularly Israel's willingness to act and Washington's appetite for confrontation. Notably, diplomatic talks held in Geneva just two days earlier, on Thursday, February 26, between Iranian negotiators and U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, had reportedly gone well — raising questions about the timing of the strikes.[1]

The Strike: What We Know

The Israeli Defence Ministry described Saturday's assault as a "preemptive strike."[2] Sirens sounded in Jerusalem and people across Israel received alerts describing an "extremely serious" threat — a signal that Iran was expected to retaliate even as the strikes were underway.

The Israeli military confirmed the deaths of at least seven senior Iranian officials. Among those confirmed killed were IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour, former IRGC Navy chief Ali Shamkhani, and the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.[3] Trump told NBC News that "the people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone."[4]

A US defense official told Fox News the strike had to be "moved up" based on intelligence about a "target of opportunity" — a rare simultaneous gathering of Iran's top brass.[5] Satellite imagery captured by Airbus confirmed that Khamenei's compound showed "multiple structures heavily damaged or destroyed." The strikes also targeted Khamenei's sons, though intelligence assessments suggest they survived.[6]

Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that the goal of the joint operation was to "remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran."[7] In an overnight video address, Trump called for the Iranian people to "take over your government" once the bombing campaign concluded — a clear signal that regime change was among the operation's aims.[1]

Live Timeline

TIME	EVENT
~5:30 AM Tehran	Joint US–Israel strikes begin; explosions heard across Tehran, Qom, Isfahan, Karaj, and Kermanshah
Morning	Iranian FM Araghchi tells NBC News Khamenei is alive "as far as I know"
Afternoon	Trump announces on Truth Social: "Khamenei is dead"
Hours Later	Iranian state media confirms: Khamenei killed at Beit Rahbari compound; internet blackout reported across Iran
Evening	Iran declares 40-day mourning; IRGC claims strikes on 27 US bases; Khamenei's family members also reported killed
Night	Israel launches second wave targeting missile arrays & air defenses; celebrations heard in Tehran and other Iranian cities

Iran Hits Back — Hard

Tehran's response came swiftly. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared it had launched retaliatory strikes on 27 US military bases across the Middle East — including in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Jordan — as well as Israeli military facilities in Tel Aviv.[1] Explosions were reported in Qatar and the UAE, and airports in Dubai and Kuwait sustained minor damage.[2]

Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani addressed an emergency UN Security Council session, alleging that over 100 children were killed at a girls' elementary school and that strikes had hit civilian infrastructure. He called the operation "a war crime and a crime against humanity."[3] The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported more than 200 people killed and roughly 700 injured across Iran.[4]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strikes by both sides, warning of "a grave threat to international peace and security" and cautioning that military action risked "igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world."[1]

Iran declared 40 days of national mourning and seven days of public holiday to honor Khamenei.[2] The Iranian government announced the country had prepared succession plans — reportedly centred on longtime Khamenei loyalist Ali Larijani — and a senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that Tehran was already looking to "drag out" any ceasefire negotiations.[3]

Israel Says: Justice Served

Israel's official position was unambiguous. Senior Israeli officials described the killing of Khamenei as justice — a reckoning for decades of proxy warfare, the Oct. 7 attack, and years of funding and arming groups dedicated to Israel's destruction. The IDF announced a fresh wave of strikes targeting Iran's ballistic missile arrays and aerial defence systems shortly after the initial assault.

The US, meanwhile, said operations would continue "uninterrupted" throughout the week, or as long as necessary until peace was secured. President Trump spoke by phone with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders — including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar — as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, signalling a broad effort at diplomatic containment.[4]

Inside Iran, celebrations were heard in parts of Tehran, Isfahan, and other cities as news of Khamenei's death filtered through. Videos geolocated by CNN showed streets full of cars blaring horns, fireworks being set off, and crowds cheering openly — a striking counterpoint to the official state mourning declared by the government.[5]

What Comes Next

Khamenei's death leaves Iran in a moment of profound political uncertainty. Under Iran's constitution, an interim council assumes power while the Assembly of Experts — a body of 88 Islamic clerics — selects a new supreme leader. But Israel says its opening strikes decimated the chain of command.[6] No single figure commands his blend of religious authority and political power; the ballistic missile program — his most enduring strategic legacy — remains intact.

The Middle East woke up Saturday to a landscape that had fundamentally shifted overnight. The Supreme Leader who defined Iranian foreign policy for a generation — who funded proxy armies, survived assassination attempts, outlasted multiple US administrations, and guided his country through sanctions and isolation — is gone. What the Islamic Republic looks like without him, nobody yet knows.

Key Figures at a Glance

FIGURE	DETAIL
37 Years	Khamenei ruled Iran (1989–2026)
7+	Senior Iranian officials confirmed killed
40 Days	National mourning declared by Iran
27	US bases allegedly struck in Iran's retaliation
200+	Casualties reported by Iranian Red Crescent
100+	Children reported killed at girls' elementary school

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Sources: NPR[1], NBC News[2], Al Jazeera[3], The Times of Israel[4], Fox News[5], Washington Post[6], CNN[7], Axios[8], CNBC[9], Wikipedia[10] • All information current as of February 28, 2026

[10]Wikipedia — "2026 Israeli–United States Strikes on Iran" — accessed March 1, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Israeli%E2%80%93United_States_strikes_on_Iran 

[1]CNBC — "Iran Live Updates: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Is Dead, State News Media Confirms" — February 28, 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/28/trump-iran-strikes-live-updates.html

[2]CNN Live Updates — "Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Killed in US-Israeli Strikes" — February 28, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-attack-02-28-26-hnk-intl

[3]NBC News Live Blog — "Israel-Iran Live Updates" — February 28, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/live-blog/israel-iran-live-updates-rcna261099

[4]NPR — "Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Has Been Killed" — February 28, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730158/israel-iran-strikes-trump-us

[5]Fox News — "Supreme Leader of Iran Khamenei Dead Following Israel's Strike on Iran" — February 28, 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/israel-us-launch-attack-on-iran-amid-escalating-protests

[6]The Times of Israel — "Feb. 28: Hailing Death of 'Evil' Khamenei, Trump Says Strikes on Iran to Persist Until Peace Secured" — February 28, 2026. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-february-28-2026/

[7]Axios — "Iranian State Media Confirms Supreme Leader Khamenei Is Dead" — February 28, 2026. https://www.axios.com/2026/02/28/iran-khamenei-killed-israel

 [8]Al Jazeera Live Blog — "US, Israel Attack Iran Live: Khamenei Killed, Tehran Launches Attacks" — February 28, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/2/28/live-israel-launches-attacks-on-iran-multiple-explosions-heard-in-tehran

[9]Washington Post — "Live Updates: Iran's Supreme Leader Killed in U.S.-Israeli Attack" — February 28, 2026. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/02/28/israel-strikes-iran-live-updates/