{"id":8,"date":"2026-05-06T19:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/austinmovinginsider.com\/?p=8"},"modified":"2026-05-06T19:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:38:12","slug":"irans-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-has-been-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/austinmovinginsider.com\/?p=8","title":{"rendered":"Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been killed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Updated February 28, 2026 at 8:54 PM CST<\/b><\/p>\n

\nTEL AVIV, Israel, WASHINGTON, D.C., and AMMAN, Jordan \u2014 Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was killed in a joint American-Israeli operation targeting Iran on Saturday, state media has confirmed.<\/p>\n

Read more Hello world!<\/a><\/p>\n

\nThe Iranian government has announced 40 days of mourning. The country’s supreme leader was killed following an attack launched by the U.S. and Israel on Saturday against Iran as part of a major military campaign intended to topple the Islamic regime.<\/p>\n

\nIsrael’s military said that top Iranian security officials were among those killed, including the country’s defense minister, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the secretary of the Iranian Security Council, a close adviser to Khamenei.<\/p>\n

\nHours earlier, Trump posted on Truth Social that Israel, with U.S. support, had killed Khamenei.<\/p>\n

\n“He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do,” Trump said. He added, “The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”<\/p>\n

\nKhamenei was killed by an Israeli strike, a person briefed on the strike told NPR. The NPR source requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. Trump did not confirm that the strike was carried out by Israel.<\/p>\n

\nIran also did not confirm the deaths of other leaders.<\/p>\n

\nThe wave of airstrikes began after sunrise in Iran, with huge explosions ringing out in the capital Tehran. Videos showed large plumes of thick smoke.<\/p>\n

\nIran’s Foreign Ministry called the attack a “gross violation” of its national sovereignty. A statement said the airstrikes hit both military and civilian targets.<\/p>\n

\nThe Iranian Red Crescent Society relief group said more than 200 people were killed in strikes across Iran.<\/p>\n

\n“They have hit many targets around me and we hear fighter jets and missiles exploding,” said a resident in western Tehran reached by phone before communications were cut in Iran. Like other Iranian residents interviewed by NPR, they did not want to use their names for fear of arrest. “People were panicking and trying to get to their homes. Children are running out of school.”<\/p>\n

\nIranian state media said one of the airstrikes hit a girls’ primary school in southern Iran, killing at least 85 children, according to the local prosecutors office. The prosecutors said more girls were still buried under the rubble. Saturday is the start of the Iranian school and work week. NPR is asking Israeli officials for comment on the report a school was hit.<\/p>\n

\nCapt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, told NPR on Saturday it was aware of reports about civilians being harmed.<\/p>\n

\n“We take these reports seriously and are looking into them,” Hawkins said. “The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimize the risk of unintended harm. Unlike Iran, we have never \u2014 and will never \u2014 target civilians.”<\/p>\n

\nIran responded with missile and drone launches of its own, spreading the conflict to the wider region. Air raid sirens wailed in Israel as it came under attack. Several countries in the Gulf also reported Iranian strikes, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. The Jordanian government, which also hosts major U.S. military bases, reported it downed 49 drones and ballistic missiles threatening its territory.<\/p>\n

\n“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said in an eight-minute video posted on Truth Social.<\/p>\n

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