We Got Him: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Has Been Taken Out

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has died, confirmed by multiple reports and Israeli officials. The initial airstrikes targeted key figures in an effort to weaken the regime, and this operation was likely successful. With Khamenei’s death, a clear successor is yet to emerge, and many potential candidates are also dead, having been killed in a series of airstrikes early Sunday morning. Based on reports, some 30 bunker buster bombs were dropped on his residence (via Axios).

SENIOR ISRAELI OFFICIAL TO REUTERS: KHAMENEI DEAD, HIS BODY HAS BEEN FOUND https://t.co/AM98lQyCOL
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) February 28, 2026

🚨🚨🚨Israeli ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter told U.S. officials that Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has been killed in the Israeli strike on his compound, a source with knowledge said
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) February 28, 2026

🚨BREAKING NEWS: Ayatollah Khamenei’s body has been found.

Iran’s Supreme Leader is dead.

🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/sR8X0Cj1fa
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 28, 2026

BREAKING: The White House has released images showing President Donald J. Trump at a secure site in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, joined by members of his cabinet as they monitored the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran earlier today.

This goes hard! pic.twitter.com/EknfZl7erw
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) February 28, 2026

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike Saturday as part of a massive joint military operation between the U.S. and Israel, Israel's ambassador to Washington told U.S. officials.
An Israeli official confirmed to Axios that Khamenei is dead, according to Israeli intelligence.
Why it matters: The 86-year-old Khamenei led Iran for 35 years, making him one of the world's longest-serving authoritarian rulers. His death is a massive blow to the regime and could accelerate its collapse, which U.S. and Israeli officials have stated as a goal of their operation.
The big picture: Khamenei's killing sets off an immediate succession crisis with no clear answer.
Under Iran's constitution, a council of clerics is meant to select a new supreme leader — but Israel's strikes also targeted senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders and political leaders, leaving the regime's chain of command in disarray.
Israeli officials say they assess the Iranian minister of defense and the commander of the IRGC were also among those killed in targeted strikes on Saturday.

🚨🚨🚨 Israeli ambassador to Washington tells U.S. officials Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed today in an Israeli strike

An Israeli official confirms to Axios that Israeli intelligence believes Khamenei is dead

More from @axios @BarakRavid: https://t.co/qMxBtXJzDz
— Mike Allen (@mikeallen) February 28, 2026

Khamenei's body has been found, Israeli official says he is confirmed dead : Reuters pic.twitter.com/mF3vpYZby7
— SILENT BRIEF (@SilentBriefHQ) February 28, 2026

Babylon Bee with perfect satire for the occasion:

Ayatollah To Give Speech As Soon As Officials Find The Rest Of His Body https://t.co/SAhWHkQ6lr pic.twitter.com/T1cxsqJZzS
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) February 28, 2026

UPDATE: US official confirms Khamenei's death.

US official confirms to Fox that US believes Khamenei and 5-10 top Iranian leaders killed in initial Israeli strike on compound; agree with Israel’s intelligence assessment.

A senior US defense official tells me that the US government agrees with the Israeli assessment that…
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) February 28, 2026

US official confirms to Fox that US believes Khamenei and 5-10 top Iranian leaders killed in initial Israeli strike on compound; agree with Israel’s intelligence assessment.
A senior US defense official tells me that the US government agrees with the Israeli assessment that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, along with 5-10 other top Iranian leaders who were all meeting at a compound in Tehran Saturday morning. The top IRGC commander also killed.
Multiple sources tell me that the timeline for the strike had to be moved up based on intelligence and this “target of opportunity.”
“There was a deliberate decision to accelerate the timeline,” officials told Fox.
That is why the US and Israel took the unusual decision to strike during the daytime to achieve the element of surprise and to target this meeting. Normally the US military would not launch an operation like this during the day. The meeting accelerated the timeline.
“This was a massive, wildly bold daytime attack,” a senior US defense official told me.
“It caught the senior leadership off guard, a Saturday morning during Ramadan and on Shabbat in the daytime.”
“We hit the senior leaders right out of the gate.” (Israel conducted the targeted strike).

Inshallah, am I right?

Also, when you turn down this offer, you deserve to be turned into an ashtray.

A senior Trump administration official says that the U.S. offered Iran "free nuclear fuel forever." The Iranians did not accept that.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 28, 2026

Trump confirms Khamenei's death:

🚨 BREAKING: President Trump CONCURS that Ayatollah Khamenei is dead, says most of the leaders in Iran who make big decisions are GONE

"The people that make all the decisions — most of them are gone."

On Ayatollah: "We feel that is a correct story."

BOOM! Straight from DJT! pic.twitter.com/QwSocfF7GF
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 28, 2026

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