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U.S.-Israeli Strikes Kill Iran’s Khamenei, Sparking Regionwide Retaliation

U.S.-Israeli Strikes Kill Iran’s Khamenei, Sparking Regionwide Retaliation
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed dead early Sunday by Iranian state television following massive U.S.-Israeli strikes that hit targets across Tehran and other cities, prompting Tehran to declare 40 days of mourning and launch retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the region apnews +2. The unprecedented killing of the 86‑year‑old leader, who ruled since 1989, triggered emergency meetings at the UN and fears of a wider Middle East war aljazeera +1.

Iranian state media said Khamenei was killed when strikes hit his office compound in Tehran, where satellite imagery later showed heavy damage and black smoke apnews +1. U.S. President Donald Trump called the operation “major combat operations” and wrote that Khamenei, “one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” while Israeli officials said the mission had specifically targeted Iran’s senior leadership and nuclear‑military infrastructure aljazeera +1. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed ongoing “waves” of retaliation, and Iranian outlets reported at least 201 dead nationwide in the initial barrage, a toll that remains unverified and is expected to rise aljazeera.

How the Strikes Reshaped the Battlefield Overnight

The joint U.S.-Israeli assault began in the early hours of 28 February, striking sites in Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, Kermanshah and more than 20 other provinces, including facilities linked to Iran’s leadership, missile forces and nuclear program aljazeera +1. Israel described the action as a “pre‑emptive attack,” while Washington framed it as a necessary move to neutralize what it said was an imminent threat posed by Iran’s regional network and nuclear advances cbsnews +1.

Within hours, Iran launched salvos of missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. bases in at least four Gulf states that host American forces, with governments in Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Kuwait reporting interceptions or impacts cbsnews. Air defenses in Israel and across the Gulf were reported to have intercepted most incoming projectiles, reflecting an interception rate similar to the roughly 85–90 percent seen in previous engagements, but debris and successful strikes still caused casualties and localized damage cbsnews +1. UN Secretary‑General António Guterres warned that “military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control,” urging an immediate ceasefire and de‑escalation aljazeera.

Who Comes After Khamenei – and Who Really Holds Power Now?

Under Iran’s constitution, the 88‑member Assembly of Experts, a clerical body elected on tightly controlled ballots, must now convene to choose the next Supreme Leader iranintl +1. The body is dominated by conservatives and hardliners vetted by the Guardian Council, making a like‑minded successor more likely than a reformist shift, analysts said iranintl. Past reporting indicated that Khamenei had drawn up contingency plans, including naming a small leadership council and elevating veteran insider Ali Larijani as a kind of emergency manager to ensure continuity if he were killed or incapacitated cnn +1.

Potential successors floated in recent months include hardline clerics close to the IRGC, members of Khamenei’s inner circle, and figures associated with the family of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini iranintl +1. Several experts have warned of a scenario in which the IRGC leverages the power vacuum to formalize its already extensive influence, either by shaping the Assembly’s choice or effectively overshadowing the next clerical leader cbsnews. A pre‑delegation of military authorities to surviving commanders means Iran’s missile and proxy networks can continue to operate even amid leadership turmoil, one analysis noted npr.

The Bigger Picture

The killing of Khamenei in a foreign military operation removed the central figure of Iran’s theocracy but did not eliminate its arsenal or its network of regional proxies, raising the risk of a drawn‑out confrontation rather than a rapid end to hostilities. With Iran already firing missiles and drones, U.S. and Israeli forces on high alert, and Gulf states increasingly exposed, the region entered a volatile phase in which miscalculation or a mass‑casualty strike could pull multiple states into a wider war aljazeera +2. The speed and cohesion of the Assembly of Experts’ succession process—and the degree to which the IRGC acts as kingmaker—will help determine whether Iran moves toward tighter hardline control, messy infighting, or some form of recalibration, a choice that will reverberate far beyond its borders.