US-Israel attacks on Iran, day 2: Khamenei is killed, Iran retaliates

United States and Israel killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with top security officials in Tehran on March 1, 2026, escalating tensions as Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks against Israeli targets and US military bases in the region. The 86-year-old Khamenei was killed in a strike at his office, along with his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson, while Iran's state media confirmed the deaths of security adviser Ali Shamkhani, IRGC Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, armed forces' chief of staff Abdul Rahim Mousavi, and Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh. In response, Iran has launched at least six waves of retaliatory attacks, targeting Israeli military assets and 27 US bases in the Middle East, with Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf vowing 'devastating blows' against what he called 'filthy criminals' in the US and Israel. The escalating conflict has pushed the already volatile region to the brink of wider war, with over 200 people reported killed across 24 Iranian provinces since Saturday, including 148 victims in an attack on an elementary girls' school in Minab city. The international community has reacted with alarm to the rapidly deteriorating situation, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres warning that the military action carries the risk of 'igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world.' At the United Nations Security Council, US Ambassador Mike Waltz defended the strikes as necessary to dismantle Iran's ballistic missile capabilities and prevent nuclear threats, while Russia's envoy condemned them as 'another unprovoked act of armed aggression' and China's Ambassador Fu Cong called the attacks 'brazen' and shocking as they occurred during diplomatic negotiations. Meanwhile, Iran has temporarily closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil route through which nearly 20% of global oil consumption passes, while ships in the Gulf reported receiving warnings from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that vessels would not be permitted to pass through the strategic waterway. The conflict has sparked protests across the Middle East and beyond, with demonstrations erupting in neighboring Iraq, Indian-administered Kashmir, and Pakistan, where at least six people were killed and several injured in riots near the US consulate in Karachi. Iraq has announced three days of public mourning, and Qatari authorities reported 16 injuries following explosions in their airspace, while Oman confirmed attacks on its Duqm commercial port and a nearby oil tanker. Israeli officials reported one woman killed and 121 others wounded in Iranian missile attacks, though most were described as minor injuries, with the Israeli military claiming to have intercepted the majority of incoming projectiles while simultaneously striking more than 30 targets in western and central Iran. As tensions continue to mount, US President Donald Trump has warned Iran against further retaliation, stating that any additional attacks would be met with 'a force that has never been seen before,' while simultaneously claiming that the US is now 'better positioned to reach a diplomatic solution' with Iran.