Khamenei killed, Iran retaliates: What happens now to the Islamic Republic?

Iranian state media confirmed on Sunday, March 1, 2026, that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1989, was killed in a coordinated military operation jointly conducted by the United States Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces. The Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency reported that Khamenei was struck at his office within his residential compound, the Beit Rahbari, located in the Iranian capital Tehran, during the early hours of Saturday morning while carrying out official duties. The Iranian cabinet subsequently declared 40 days of public mourning and seven days of national public holidays in honor of the slain leader.

State broadcaster IRIB confirmed via its official Telegram account that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran was martyred at his workplace in the Beit Rahbari compound, stating that he was present at his place of work at the moment of the attack. A senior United States defense official confirmed that the United States government agreed with the Israeli assessment that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead, along with five to ten other top Iranian leaders who had been meeting at a compound in the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday morning. The same official indicated that the strike had to be moved up based on intelligence indicating a target of opportunity, and that there was a deliberate decision to accelerate the timeline.

How did the joint United States and Israeli military operation against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei unfold on February 28, 2026?

The joint military offensive was designated “Operation Epic Fury” by the United States government and targeted Islamic Republic of Iran regime leadership and military targets identified as posing an imminent threat to the United States and its regional allies. An Israeli military official told reporters that the United States Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces had spent months building up an extensive bank of targets in Iran and were looking for the right moment to strike when senior Iranian officials would be gathered. The official said three separate gatherings of senior officials were struck simultaneously on Saturday morning and that several central government figures were killed, without publicly identifying all of them.

United States President Donald Trump announced Khamenei’s death via his Truth Social social media platform on Saturday, stating that Khamenei had been unable to avoid United States intelligence and sophisticated tracking systems and that, working closely with Israel, there was nothing Khamenei or the other leaders killed alongside him could do. President Trump added that heavy and pinpoint bombing would continue uninterrupted throughout the week, or for as long as necessary, to achieve the objective of peace throughout the Middle East. President Trump also called on the Iranian people to remain in their homes during the bombing campaign but to rise up and take over their government when operations concluded.

The Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday that much of Iran’s senior leadership had been killed, including Secretary of the Iranian Security Council Ali Shamkhani and Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference that for three decades Khamenei had been dispatching terror through proxy forces and had made the Iranian people miserable while speaking of the extermination of the State of Israel, declaring that this plan and program no longer existed. Netanyahu later said that growing signs pointed to Khamenei being killed in the strike after Israel struck the compound in the early hours of Saturday.

What casualties and damage were reported across Iran and the wider Middle East following the United States and Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026?

Iranian state media confirmed that Khamenei’s daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were also killed in the strikes. The semi-official Iranian news agency Fars, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also reported that a daughter-in-law of Khamenei may have been killed, though this was not independently confirmed at the time of publication. The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported that more than 200 people were killed in strikes across Iran.

Among the casualties, Iranian state media reported that more than 100 children were killed in a strike on a primary school in the southern Iranian coastal city of Minab. The Shajareh Tayebeh primary school was struck while approximately 170 schoolgirls were inside. The local prosecutor’s office reported at least 85 children were confirmed dead, with more reportedly still buried under the rubble. Saturday is the start of the school and work week in Iran. Iranian state media said children were running out of schools across the country as strikes continued throughout the morning.

Iran launched retaliatory strikes on United States military bases, Israel, and other targets across the Middle East, disrupting air travel and oil shipments across the region. Zayed International Airport in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait International Airport were targeted during the retaliatory strikes, according to officials in both countries. Kuwait Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah visited victims of the attack on Kuwait International Airport at Farwaniya Hospital. A woman was killed and 121 others were injured across Israel in Iran’s retaliatory strikes, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency rescue services. The United States military reported no combat-related American casualties from the operation.

What is the constitutional process for selecting a new Supreme Leader of Iran following the death of Ayatollah Khamenei?

Under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, an interim council assumes power while the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 senior Islamic clerics, selects a new supreme leader. Khamenei held constitutional authority over the judiciary, state media, and all security forces of the Islamic Republic, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. No official public successor had been named during Khamenei’s 36-year tenure, though his son Mojtaba Khamenei had been widely discussed by Iran analysts as a potential candidate. Israeli officials said Israel targeted Khamenei’s sons in the strikes, but intelligence assessments suggest they survived.

Israel’s opening strikes were reported to have decimated much of Iran’s chain of command, killing seven senior defense and intelligence officials and targeting 30 top military and civilian leaders overall. The New York Times had reported earlier in February 2026 that Khamenei had put in place detailed plans for succession and emergency chains of command should he or other top leaders be killed, elevating longtime loyalist Ali Larijani to manage any such crisis. Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, a former speaker of the Iranian parliament, and one of Khamenei’s closest senior confidants, emerged as the most senior civilian official still standing following the strikes. In a post on the X social media platform, Larijani vowed that Iran would deliver Israel and the United States an “unforgettable lesson.”

How did regional governments, diaspora communities, and international figures respond to news of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing?

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Trump had spoken with Gulf Cooperation Council member nations, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the State of Qatar, along with North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte, following the commencement of operations. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had made multiple private phone calls to President Trump over the preceding month advocating for a United States strike on Iran, despite his public support for a diplomatic resolution, according to reporting citing people familiar with the matter.

Celebrations were reported in parts of the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday night following the widespread reporting of Khamenei’s death. Video from Tehran captured women chanting slogans including “Death to the Islamic Republic” and “Long Live the Shah” in Farsi before cheers erupted in the background. In Los Angeles, California, home to the largest Iranian diaspora population outside Iran, dozens gathered in the Westwood neighborhood carrying pre-1979 Iranian flags, American flags, and Israeli flags. Chants at the Los Angeles gathering included “Freedom for Iran” and “No More Ayatollah.”

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled Iranian crown prince and son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran who was deposed in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, issued a public statement praising the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, describing him as the “bloodthirsty despot of our time” who had been “erased from the face of history.” Pahlavi called on Iran’s military forces to avoid efforts to preserve what he described as a collapsing regime and instead help ensure Iran’s stable transition to a free and prosperous future. Pahlavi urged Iranian security forces to join the nation or face sinking with Khamenei’s crumbling regime.

Former United States national security adviser John Bolton, speaking to CNN, stated that Khamenei and his regime had been responsible for the deaths of thousands of American civilians and service members over the years and had posed a direct threat through its pursuit of nuclear weapons and what Bolton described as international terrorism unparalleled in history. Bolton said he hoped the development marked “the beginning of the end of the regime.”

The United States government had not briefed allies on the details of the planned military action prior to the strikes, according to multiple diplomatic sources.

President Trump, when asked by reporters who was currently calling the shots inside Iran following Khamenei’s death, stated he knew exactly who it was but could not share that information. When pressed on whether there was a particular figure in Iran he would like to see lead the country, Trump said he believed there were some good candidates, without elaborating further.

What does the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Operation Epic Fury mean for Iran, the United States, Israel, and regional stability in the Middle East?

• Iranian state media, including the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency and state broadcaster IRIB, confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, 2026, following joint United States and Israeli airstrikes targeting his compound in Tehran as part of an operation designated “Operation Epic Fury.”

• The Islamic Republic of Iran launched retaliatory strikes on United States military bases, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and other targets across the Middle East, while the United States military reported no combat-related American casualties as of the time of publication.

• Under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 senior Islamic clerics, is constitutionally mandated to select a new supreme leader; Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, emerged as the most senior surviving civilian official and vowed retaliation against Israel and the United States.

• The Israel Defense Forces reported the killing of multiple senior Iranian officials, including Secretary of the Iranian Security Council Ali Shamkhani and Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, as part of the opening wave of strikes that targeted 30 top military and civilian leaders.

• The Iranian government declared 40 days of public mourning and seven days of national public holidays following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while celebrations were reported in parts of Tehran and among Iranian diaspora communities in Los Angeles, California.