Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei dies, Israeli sources say
Israeli sources told USA TODAY, CNN and Reuters that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed.
- Israeli sources confirmed to USA TODAY that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli attack.
- President Donald Trump told NBC News that he believed reports about Khamenei’s death were accurate.
- Iran’s Foreign Ministry insisted that Khamenei and President Massoud Pezeshkian were “safe and sound.”
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a coordinated attack on Iran, Israeli sources confirmed to USA TODAY.
Reuters and CNN also reported that Khamenei was killed during a joint US-Israeli operation on February 28th.
Regarding reports of Khamenei’s death, President Donald Trump told NBC News: “We feel that’s the right story.”
However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry continues to insist that Khamenei and President Massoud Pezeshkian are “safe and sound.”
Khamenei, 86, has led Iran since 1989. Prior to that, he served as president from 1981 to 1989. He was a close ally of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the 1979 Iranian revolution, overthrowing the government and founding the Islamic Republic of Iran.
He is credited with creating the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and strengthening its authority.
Khamenei targeted in US-Israel attack
Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi told NBC News that Khamenei was still alive “as far as I know.”
“All the senior officials are still alive,” he said. “So now everyone is in the position, we are dealing with the situation and everything is fine.” Arraguchi said the country “may have lost one or two commanders, but it’s not a big problem.”
Israel defeats the US and attacks Iran
The United States has launched military strikes and “large-scale combat operations” against Iran, targeting Iran’s missile capabilities.
Khamenei was elected supreme leader after the death of Ruhollah Khomeini in June 1989. Khamenei became Khomeini’s favored successor after he ousted Grand Master Hussein Ali Montazeri, who was critical of Khomeini’s policies.
Khomeini seized power, overthrew the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and established Iran as a theocratic Islamic republic.
The New York Times reported in June 2025 that Ayatollah Khamenei had named three senior clerics as potential successors in the event he was killed. Khamenei hid in an underground bunker to protect himself from Israeli airstrikes.
In a contingency planning memo issued in February 2026, the Council on Foreign Relations said Khamenei “appeared frail” after the attack and “for the first time since taking office, did not attend the annual event commemorating the military’s support for the 1979 Iranian revolution.”.
Khamenei’s death “will be the second leadership change in Iran since the establishment of the regime nearly 50 years ago, and its impact will reverberate not only in the Middle East but around the world,” the document said.
