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Assassination of Ali Khamenei

Coordinates: 35°41′31″N 51°23′55″E / 35.6919°N 51.3986°E / 35.6919; 51.3986
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This article is about the 2026 assassination of Ali Khamenei. For the 1981 attempt, see Attempted assassination of Ali Khamenei.

Assassination of Ali Khamenei
Part of the 2026 Iran war
Khamenei on 12 February 2026, 16 days before his assassination
Type
Location
Tehran, Iran

35°41′31″N 51°23′55″E / 35.6919°N 51.3986°E / 35.6919; 51.3986
Planned by
TargetAli Khamenei and associated Iranian leadership
Date28 February 2026; 11 days ago (2026-02-28)
Executed by
OutcomeSuccessful
Casualties8 (including Khamenei)[1] killed

On 28 February 2026, Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, was assassinated as part of a series of Israeli airstrikes around Tehran aimed at high-ranking Iranian officials. Khamenei's death was confirmed by the Iranian government on 1 March.[2] His death occurred as part of a wider joint operation by the United States and Israel, using strategic locations intelligence from the US's Central Intelligence Agency to determine the whereabouts of several leaders.[3]

According to retired Major-General Denis Thompson, Canadian forces from the Combined Aerospace Operations Centre of the 1 Canadian Air Division also provided intelligence support for strikes during the assassination as well as intelligence support during the wider war as a whole, although the Canadian Department of National Defence has denied any involvement in Operation Epic Fury.[4] Satellite imagery suggested that Khamenei's residence in the city was severely damaged during the attack.

Following initial Israeli reports that Khamenei had been killed in the operation, US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Khamenei was dead. After Iranian state media confirmed his death, the government announced 40 days of mourning and seven days of public holiday. The Fars News Agency announced that Khamenei's daughter, son-in-law, three of his grandchildren,[5][6] and his daughter-in-law had also been killed in the strikes.[7][8][9] Khamenei's wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, died from her injuries on 2 March.[10]

As Khamenei's death was confirmed, many Iranian civilians went out to celebrate in the streets.[11][12][13][14] Elsewhere in Iran, thousands gathered on streets in mourning[15] and stated on social media that they were mourning his death.[11] Pro-Iranian protests and riots occurred in multiple countries.[16]

A previous attempt to assassinate Khamenei by Israel during the Twelve-Day War on 15 June 2025 was vetoed by Trump, according to unnamed US officials.[17]

Preparations

After the Twelve-Day War in June 2025, Khamenei became increasingly reclusive, and the bunker in his compound was so deep that its elevator took more than five minutes to reach it, making the opportunities to strike very rare.[18] For months before the attack, the CIA had been tracking the locations and patterns of Khamenei and had learned that a meeting of senior officials was to take place with the attendance of Khamenei,[18] so the strikes were planned to coincide with the meeting.[18][19] Israeli officials stated that Khamenei was seen above ground at his conspicuous official residence shortly before the assassination.[20]

Airstrikes

Khamenei's compound after the attack
See also: 2026 Iran war

The strike on Khamenei's compound was unique in that it was carried out during daylight, with Israeli jets dropping 30 bombs on the site, along with Blue Sparrow ALBMs.[21][22][19] Strikes targeted strategic facilities and important Iranian officials, including Khamenei's compound, which was among those most affected by Israeli strikes in Tehran; satellite imagery suggested that the building was severely damaged.[23][24] At the same time, attacks were carried out in at least two other locations in the city to ensure the success of the operation.[18]

Initial reports

Conflicting reports

Following the initial strikes, several outlets, such as Axios and Iran International,[25] citing Israeli government sources, began reporting that Khamenei was dead.[26][27][28][29] An unnamed Israeli official said that Khamenei's body was located following the strikes, a photograph of which was reportedly shown to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[30][31] These reports around Khamenei's death were initially disputed by Iranian sources, with Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmail Baghaei stating that Khamenei was "safe and sound",[32][33] and Reuters reporting that Khamenei was transferred to a "secure location" outside of Tehran.[34] Netanyahu stated that there were "growing signs" pointing to Khamenei's death. US president Donald Trump echoed these claims, calling the then-unconfirmed assassination "justice for the people of Iran".[35] Following the statements by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Mehr once again stated that Khamenei was alive and still "steadfast and firm in commanding the field".[30]

Shortly before midnight in Iran on 28 February, an unnamed Israeli official said that Khamenei had been killed in the air strikes and his body had been recovered and identified by intelligence sources.[36] Netanyahu stated that there were signs that Khamenei might have been killed,[37] though the Iranian foreign ministry contested his claim.[38] According to Israeli officials, Khamenei's body was found in rubble.[39]

Confirmation

Early on 1 March, the Iranian Supreme National Security Council,[40] as well as Iranian state media, including the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, announced that Khamenei had been killed, despite previous steadfast denial. The state declared 40 days of mourning and a seven-day national holiday.[41][42] The Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that Khamenei's daughter Hoda Khamenei,[43] son-in-law Mesbah Bagheri Kani,[44] granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani and her sibling (children of Boshra Khamenei),[44][5] daughter-in-law Zahra Haddad-Adel,[44] and a grandson (son of Zahra Haddad-Adel and Mojtaba Khamenei)[6] were also killed in the strikes on his compound.[7][45][9] On 2 March, it was reported that Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, Khamenei's wife, had also died from injuries she had sustained in the strikes.[10]

Aftermath

Main article: 2026 Iranian Supreme Leader election
Tribute to Khamenei in the Iranian embassy of Baku

As the position of Supreme Leader is appointed by the Assembly of Experts and the position of Vice Supreme Leader was abolished in 1989, Khamenei had no officially appointed successor.[46] At Khamenei's funeral, it was announced that the Interim Leadership Council would include member of the Assembly of Experts Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.[19][47] The IRGC was insistent on appointing a permanent leader swiftly.[48] On March 3, Fars said they were at the "final stages" of choosing a new supreme leader.[49] According to The New York Times, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was the most likely successor.[50] Mojtaba Khamenei was ultimately appointed by the Assembly of Experts on March 8 2026.[51]

The Fars news agency states Khamenei will be buried in Mashhad.[52] The state funeral of Ali Khamenei was to take place in Tehran and Mashhad during the three days between 4–6 March 2026 but it was postponed.[53][54]

Reactions

Main article: Reactions to the assassination of Ali Khamenei

Domestic

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian described the killing as a "great crime" and said that it would not go unanswered.[55] Civilian reaction from Iranians to his death were mixed. As his death was confirmed, some Iranian civilians went out to celebrate in the streets.[11][12][13][14] Following the initial announcements of Khamenei's death, celebrations were heard in the capital, and videos of celebrations in cities like Isfahan, Karaj, Kermanshah, Qazvin, Sanandaj, Shiraz, and Izeh circulated online. In Dehloran, people were filmed cheering as a statue of Khamenei was toppled.[56][25][57] Security forces were also deployed to prevent an uprising, with footage showing them opening fire on celebrants in the streets.[58][59]

President Trump announces the death of Ali Khamenei at Mar-a-Lago on 1 March 2026.

Supporters of Khamenei mourned his death near the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad; videos show several people crying and wailing as others appear collapsed on the floor in grief.[60] Photos also show Iranians mourning his death while holding portraits of him in Enqelab Square, Tehran.[61] Videos were reported showing thousands of people in Yasuj and Isfahan[62] mourning his death, with similar scenes being reported in Shiraz and the province of Lorestan.[63][64] The red Shia flag of revenge was raised on the Jamkaran Mosque.[65]

Maryam Rajavi, co-leader of the dissident group MEK, released a statement on her website hailing the death of Khamenei as the "end of religious tyranny" and the "collapse of the Velayat-e Faqih regime", calling for a transitional government that excludes mullahs and monarchists, and saying that MEK does not seek foreign intervention in Iran.[66]

Exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, eldest son of the last shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and noted dissident against the Islamic Republic regime, unilaterally declared the "end of the Islamic Republic" shortly following Khamenei's death.[67][68] Pahlavi later said Khamenei's death is not "the end" and called on Iranians to overthrow the Islamic Republic by preparing for "widespread and decisive presence in the streets."[69]

International

See also: 2026 Iranian diaspora protests § Following the Israeli–United States strikes on Iran, and Reactions to the 2026 Iran war

Reports of Khamenei's assassination were followed by demonstrations in a number of countries across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Reactions varied by location: in some cities, people gathered for mourning rallies and protests against the United States and Israel, while in others smaller groups assembled to express support for the strikes.[70][71][72] Reports of celebrations of Khamenei's death were censored in China.[73]

Across the United States, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in cities including Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and Boston, to protest the US–Israeli strikes.[74][75][76]

In India, thousands nationwide joined protests in outcry. Prayer meetings and widespread demonstrations were organized by members of Shia Muslim communities in Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi and other areas. Some participants carried portraits of Khamenei and Iranian flags, and were condemning the attacks.[77][78][71] The MMU and various communities launched widespread protests and three-day mourning periods in solidarity with Iran.[77] In Bangladesh, a demonstration organized by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami condemned Khamenei's killing and called for OIC intervention.[79] In Greece, over 1,300 protesters, rallied in Athens with banners reading "Hands off Iran."[80] In Baghdad, demonstrators attempted to approach the US embassy, leading to clashes with security forces.[81][82] Anti-war protests were held in Rabat, Morocco,[83] while in Kano, Nigeria, Shia Muslims waved Iranian and Palestinian flags and decried US and Israeli actions.[84]

In Pakistan, many condemned the strikes that killed Khamenei and expressed solidarity with Iran. Demonstrators gathered in major cities voiced opposition to the assassination and called out perceived government complicity. Some protests in Karachi and Gilgit-Baltistan escalated into clashes with security forces, resulting in casualties and prompting temporary curfews and military deployment.[85][86][87]

Mourning and protest rallies were held across Shia-populated areas of India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, Lucknow, and Kargil. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Shia Shariat Association announced a period of public mourning for 40 days and asked their followers to celebrate the day by hoisting black flags and organizing religious activities. Protest rallies were also held in the cities of Lucknow and Kargil, with a large number of citizens carrying the pictures of the Iranian leader while expressing solidarity with the people of Iran.[88]

Smaller anti-war demonstrations were also reported in South Korea, Spain, Turkey, and United Kingdom.[71]

Analysts

The Economist described the killing of Khamenei as an "enormous success" for the United States and Israel, noting that a comparable effort to kill Saddam Hussein during the 2003 invasion of Iraq had taken nine months.[89] It also suggested Khamenei's assassination, framed within Shia concepts of martyrdom, may actually benefit the regime rather than weaken it.[90] Harlan Ullman, chairman of the strategic advisory Killowen Group and adviser to the Atlantic Council has called assassination of Khamenei a "big mistake", writing that US has made him a "martyr".[91][92]

Julian Borger of the Guardian warned of a "Libya-style collapse" where a fractured, multi-ethnic Iran leads to a massive security vacuum, leading to separatist movements and creating a refugee crisis for the West.[93]

The New York Times wrote that by killing Khamenei, Israel had "crossed a new Rubicon, killing the head of state of a sovereign country—something it had shied away from doing early in the war last June, according to two [...] Israeli defense officials."[20] The Atlantic framed the killing of Khamenei as the culmination of a long internal decay, arguing that his regime's collapse stemmed less from foreign firepower than from rot within. According to Graeme Wood, "the best-planned defenses don't count for much if the people you trust to run them are ready to sell you out," casting Khamenei as ultimately undone by betrayal bred by his own system.[94]

Iran International cast the killing of Khamenei as the long-awaited end of "the dictator a nation longed to see gone", framing his death as the closing of an era defined by repression, ideological rigidity, and mass bloodshed, especially the January 2026 massacre. In this telling, his assassination lands at a moment of profound internal crisis, with a hollowed-out system facing succession struggles, public fury, and possible collapse, making his death less a geopolitical shock than the culmination of accumulated domestic illegitimacy.[95] In an article for The Atlantic, Karim Sadjadpour described Khamenei as a rigid guardian of a revolution increasingly disconnected from much of Iranian society, arguing that his anti-Americanism was rooted more in regime preservation than ideology. He concluded by noting the symbolic irony that, after decades defined by hostility toward the United States and Israel, Khamenei was killed in a strike by those same adversaries.[96]

Some analysts argue that Khamenei's death may serve as a powerful symbol for Iran's leadership, uniting supporters and strengthening ideological commitment in the face of external attack.[97][98][99] Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group (ICG) observes that the Khamenei's assassination removes the most pragmatic decision-maker in the system, potentially closing the door on nuclear diplomacy and empowering less predictable hardliners.[100]

Omani mediators have observed that prior to the strike, a peace deal was within reach including Iranian concessions on uranium stockpiles. The assassination is seen by some as a deliberate sabotage of these diplomatic channels. It has also noted that this could bolster hardline elements and reduce prospects for rapid regime change rather than achieving strategic goals for the US and Israel, and will contribute to further regional instability.[98][101]

Some legal and policy analysts have criticized his assassination as a violation of international law and that it risks normalizing the deliberate killing of foreign leaders.[102][103]

See also

References

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