Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader for nearly four decades, was killed on February 28 in a joint US–Israel airstrike on Tehran, state media reported, bringing to an end one of the longest and most ideologically consistent leadership eras in modern West Asian politics. Iranian authorities announced 40 days of national mourning.
Reports said the strikes struck senior leadership compounds in Tehran and that former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also killed when his residence in the Narmak district was hit, along with members of his security detail. Satellite imagery showed extensive destruction at a secured command complex linked to the Supreme Leader’s office, and Israeli officials said Khamenei’s body was recovered from the rubble. Several senior military and security figures were reported killed, an outcome analysts described as unprecedented for Iran’s clerical-military leadership.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera a new Supreme Leader would be chosen “in one or two days.” Under Article 111 of the Iranian constitution, authorities initiated an emergency succession process by forming a three-member council to exercise the Supreme Leader’s powers temporarily until the Assembly of Experts selects a permanent successor. Senior cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi was named the jurist member of the interim council, completing the body assigned to run supreme authority in the short term.
Western and Israeli officials described the operation—codenamed Operation Epic Fury by Washington and Operation Roaring Lion by Israel—as aimed at neutralizing an alleged imminent strategic threat linked to Iran’s nuclear and command infrastructure. Iran called the strikes an “act of aggression” and vowed retaliation. President Masoud Pezeshkian said avenging Khamenei’s death was a “legitimate duty” of the nation.
US president Donald Trump confirmed the killing and said military operations against Iranian targets would continue until regional security objectives were met; he also urged Iranians to “take over your government,” a statement analysts said could further inflame tensions. Russian president Vladimir Putin condemned the killings, calling them “cynical” murders that violated moral and legal norms, and offered condolences to Iran’s leadership.
Following the assassination, Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes against Israeli targets and US military assets across the Gulf region, including bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Several Gulf states activated air-defence systems and intercepted incoming projectiles. Reports described casualties and infrastructure damage in some areas, and the strikes prompted airspace closures, disrupted commercial flights and heightened military alerts, raising fears of a wider regional conflagration.
Global energy markets reacted to reports that Tehran moved to restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint that handles a significant share of seaborne crude. The international community voiced concern about spillover effects on commerce and shipping lanes.
The United Nations called for immediate de-escalation, warning that continued hostilities risk dragging the region into uncontrollable war. For Iran, the wider Middle East, and global diplomatic and economic stability, the strike and its aftermath mark the most serious leadership transition since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The assassination ends the post-Khomeini political order and opens an uncertain, potentially volatile chapter in West Asian politics.
