Sunday 01 / March / 2026
Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike this morning, US President Donald Trump said.
"He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that could have been killed along with him, could do," Trump said.
Trump said that he is hearing that many of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), "Military and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us."
"Hopefully the IRGC and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves," the president said.
He said that "heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week, or as long as necessary to achieve our objective of" peace in the Middle East and the world.
Iran state TV confirms death of Khamenei
Iranian state-run television has confirmed the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei, 86, had ruled the country since 1989, when he succeeded Iran's first supreme leader under the Islamic Republic that was established in 1979, Ruhollah Khomeini.
During his reign, Iran pursued nuclear ambitions and had also expanded support for Shiite Muslim-aligned actors in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Kata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq. In addition, Iran under Khamenei's leadership funded and provided military training to Hamas, which took over the Gaza Strip in 2007 and carried out the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
Khamenei also backed violent crackdowns on demonstrators opposed to the rule of the Islamic Republic.
Khamenei was killed at his office early on Saturday, the broadcasts said. Iranian media said the country will now enter a period of 40 days of mourning.
Seven high-ranking Iranian officials killed in strikes: IDF
Seven senior Iranian officials were killed as part of the joint Israeli-US strikes this morning, Israel's military said in a statement.
The list of officials killed includes Ali Shamkhani, Supreme Leader Khamenei's senior advisor, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.
