U.S. and Israel Kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Donald Trump Says
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U.S. and Israel Kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Donald Trump Says

28 February, 2026.Iran.72 sources

Key Takeaways

  • United States and Israel launched a major joint air and missile campaign against Iran.
  • President Donald Trump said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed; Iran has not confirmed.
  • Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes across the Middle East, with reported civilian casualties.

Coordinated strikes in Iran

President Donald Trump publicly declared that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strikes.

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Reports across mainstream outlets described large, joint strikes, some named "Operation Epic Fury".

President Donald Trump and allied Israeli sources said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures died.

Several outlets emphasized that those claims were unconfirmed by Tehran.

The White House framed the action as a major, intelligence-driven effort to degrade Iranian leadership and nuclear and missile capabilities.

Strikes and Reported Casualties

Israeli officials and some Western outlets said the operation struck multiple regime and military targets.

They said senior Iranian commanders and officials were among the dead.

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Israel publicly reported eliminating several senior figures, and some intelligence partners told media that dozens of regime personnel were killed.

Israeli and U.S. statements described strikes on command-and-control, missile and nuclear-linked sites.

Israeli leaders suggested evidence — including recovered bodies — pointed to Khamenei’s death, though independent verification remained lacking.

Responses to Khamenei claims

They called the claims baseless or psychological operations.

Several outlets noted that Tehran had not provided independent confirmation.

Western and alternative outlets highlighted that independent verification was not available at the time those claims circulated.

Those outlets also cautioned that some Western sources relied on unnamed officials when reporting leadership casualties.

Damage and casualty reports

The strikes and subsequent exchanges produced widespread damage inside Iran and across the region.

Iranian state and humanitarian sources reported scores or hundreds killed and many more wounded.

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AP NewsAP News

Regional governments reported missile and drone attacks, some interceptions, and limited damage to civilian infrastructure outside Iran.

Reporting on specific incidents, most notably claims of school strikes and large child casualties, varied sharply between Iranian state tallies and outside agencies.

Multiple outlets flagged those figures as unverified or contradictory.

International and domestic reactions

International and domestic reaction emphasized the risks of rapid escalation and deep uncertainty about outcomes.

Iran is entitled to defend itself from Israeli and US attacks, the spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stressed

Al JazeeraAl Jazeera

U.N. officials called for an immediate halt to hostilities.

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Diplomats warned of a wider regional war.

Analysts and some U.S. politicians questioned whether airpower and decapitation strikes could produce regime change or would instead empower Iran’s security institutions.

Critics also raised legal and political concerns about congressional authorization and the administration’s evidentiary claims.

Commentators warned the killing—or claims of killing—would likely produce a complex succession process with unpredictable consequences for Iranian governance and regional stability.

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