Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed Saturday in a coordinated U.S.–Israeli strike on central Tehran, according to officials from both countries. The attack has triggered one of the most volatile confrontations the Middle East has seen in decades.
Within hours, Iran responded. Missiles and drones were launched toward Israel and several Gulf states, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Air defenses intercepted many of them, but not before explosions lit up night skies across the region.
By Sunday, fresh blasts were reported in Tehran. Israeli forces said they were targeting sites “in the heart of the regime,” and thick smoke rose above parts of the capital.
U.S. President Donald Trump described Khamenei as “one of the most evil people in history” and urged Iranians to “take back their country.” He warned that any major retaliation would be met with force “never seen before.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier pointed to “growing signs” that the Iranian leader was gone. Iranian state television later confirmed his death in a tearful announcement that stunned supporters and critics alike.
Iranian state media says at least 57 people were killed in strikes across Tehran in the past 24 hours. In Israel, officials say two people were killed in retaliatory missile fire, with hundreds more hospitalized since the escalation began.
In Dubai, falling debris from intercepted drones injured several people and forced airport operations to halt. Off Oman’s coast, near Khasab, an oil tanker was hit, injuring four crew members.
Airspace across parts of the Middle East has closed, grounding flights and stranding travelers from London to Singapore. The fallout is spreading far beyond Iran and Israel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the killing as a “cynical murder” and offered condolences to Tehran. Hezbollah in Lebanon called Khamenei a martyr and vowed to continue resisting what it described as American and Israeli aggression.
In Pakistan, protests near U.S. diplomatic facilities turned violent, with hospital officials reporting at least nine deaths.
Despite the magnitude of the strike, Iran’s system of government was built to endure the loss of a supreme leader. The Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body, is responsible for selecting a successor. Behind the scenes, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is expected to shape the transition.
For Washington and Jerusalem, the stakes appear to extend beyond military retaliation. Both have openly encouraged Iranians to challenge clerical rule; a call that could inflame tensions inside Iran as much as outside it.
