US and Israel killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a coordinated military operation
Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at Israel and multiple Arab countries hosting US bases
The assassination comes amid heightened tensions following Iran's crackdown on protesters
President Trump ordered the operation without seeking Congressional approval, reigniting debate about war powers
📖 Full Retelling
Israeli and American forces killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with several other top Iranian officials in a military operation on Saturday morning, March 1, 2026, citing Iran's nuclear program, sponsorship of terrorism, and violent crackdown on protesters as justifications for the unprecedented attack. The operation, which began when Israeli warplanes took off just after 6 a.m. local time, involved a coordinated bombardment that lasted from morning until night on Saturday and continued into the following day, targeting military bases, air defenses, and locations where Iranian officials were gathering. In one particularly striking incident, a strike hit a girls' elementary school near a naval base in southern Iran, killing more than 60 people according to the Iranian Red Crescent and state news outlets, with videos from the scene showing piles of bloodied, dusty backpacks. The assassination represents a dramatic escalation in tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran, coming just weeks after Iran's government killed thousands of anti-government protesters and reversing President Trump's previous stance against military adventurism, as he now explicitly seeks to topple Iran's government with what national security correspondent David Sanger describes as 'the ultimate war of choice.'
🏷️ Themes
Middle East Conflict, Geopolitical Tensions, Regime Change
Ali Hosseini Khamenei (born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. His tenure as supreme leader, spanning 36 years, makes him the longest-serving head of...
# Iran
**Iran**, officially the **Islamic Republic of Iran** and historically known as **Persia**, is a sovereign country situated in West Asia. It is a major regional power, ranking as the 17th-largest country in the world by both land area and population. Combining a rich historical legacy with a...
The Middle East is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, the Levant, and Turkey.
The term came into widespread usage by Western European nations in the early 20th century as a replacement of the term Near East (both were in contrast to the Far East). The term ...
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, ...
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel occupies the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories, as well as...
Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Newsletter The Morning Killing Iran’s Leader We look at the events leading to the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and what comes next. Share full article By Adam B. Kushner and Tom Wright-Piersanti We are editors of The Morning. March 1, 2026, 7:57 a.m. ET Nations are usually wary about killing the leaders of other countries. In addition to moral and legal concerns, there can be unintended consequences. How will the enemy retaliate? What if the successor is worse? What precedent is set? This weekend, Israel and the United States took that gamble. Their military campaign killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several of the country’s other top leaders. The bombing would continue this week, President Trump said, until there is “peace throughout the Middle East.” The Islamic revolution that took control of the country in 1979 has been helmed by two supreme leaders. Khamenei, whom Trump described in a post online yesterday as “one of the most evil people in History,” was the second. He steered the country through nearly four decades of conflict with the West. Now he is gone. It’s not clear if that leadership structure will last, or what comes next. The operation The U.S. and Israeli governments had been planning to begin their assault at night. But the C.I.A., which tracked Khamenei for months, learned that he would be in the same compound as other top Iranian officials on Saturday morning. So the two countries changed their plans . Israeli warplanes took off just after 6 a.m. local time; less than three hours later, the explosions began, killing Khamenei and other officials . That was the start of a bombardment by Israeli and U.S. forces that lasted from morning until night on Saturday, and has continued today. The countries targeted sites where other top Iranian officials were gathering, as well as military bases and air defenses across the country. This is where forces struck. One strike hit a girls’ elementa...
