Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, was killed in a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. President Donald Trump announced his death Saturday, and Iranian state television confirmed it hours later. Iran’s government declared 40 days of mourning. Khamenei was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his Tehran compound, according to four Israeli security officials.
Trump, who earlier said the operation was aimed at toppling the Iranian government, said in a Truth Social post that the attackwould continue “uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!” Trump launched the attack after a weeks-long lobbying effort by Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to four people familiar with the matter.
U.S. military forces hit Iranian missile sites, its air defense systems, and command and control centers for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. Western airstrikes on Saturday targeted top commanders at Iran’s main intelligence agency, a senior Western security official told The Washington Post. The U.S. in recent weeksamassed an immense strike force in the region, while pressing Iran to dismantle its nuclear program in negotiations that failed to reach a resolution.
In retaliatory attacks,Iran fired missiles at Israel and at least seven Arab states on Saturday. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait confirmed hits, while Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Qatar said they intercepted missiles. Israel’s emergency service reported one person killed in a missile strike in central Tel Aviv and more than 100 injured by retaliatory strikes. In Dubai, a prominent hotel was hit. “I want a safe nation, and that’s what we’re going to have,” Trump told The Post after announcing the start of “major combat operations.”
Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that they “eliminated” seven Iranian senior officials, including the secretary of the Iranian Security Council, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and the defense minister of Iran.
A senior Trump administration official said the U.S. saw “indicators” that Iran was planning to strike U.S. targets overseas “preemptively,” and that this intelligence influenced Trump’s decision to order strikes.
Internet access in Iran has been restricted, and the IRGC has sent radio transmissions saying no ship is allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s state broadcaster reported the death toll from the strikes has reached 201 dead and 747 injured, citing figures from the Iranian Red Crescent Society.
Seven Arab countries and Israel have reported missile attacks. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait confirmed missiles hit their territory. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Qatar said they intercepted missiles. The Washington Post verified at least one attack on U.S. Navy headquarters in Bahrain. Israel’s emergency service confirmed one death and at least 100 injuries.
Smoke towered over a Red Crescent hospital building in northeast Tehran on Sunday, marking what appeared to be the aftermath of a strike in the area. Video verified by The Washington Post shows several medics wearing red and white uniforms fleeing. They occasionally look back as smoke engulfs a building in the hospital complex, adorned with the society’s distinctive moon logo.
The Israel Defense Forces released a statement Sunday saying it began striking targets in the heart of Tehran: “The Israeli Air Force, guided by IDF intelligence, has begun a wave of strikes against targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime in Tehran.” It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties.
Smoke towered over a Red Crescent hospital building in north-east Tehran on Sunday, marking what appeared to be the aftermath of a strike in the area. Video verified by The Post shows several medics wearing red and white uniform fleeing the scene. They occasionally look back as smoke engulfs a building in the hospital complex, adorned with the society’s distinctive moon logo.
The Israel Defense Forces released a statement Sunday saying they began striking targets in the heart of Tehran: “The Israeli Air Force, guided by IDF intelligence, has begun a wave of strikes against targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime in Tehran.” It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.
Ermiya Fanaeian has lived in the United States since she was 1 years old, but still has family in her home country of Iran. On Saturday, as word spread of attacks there by Israel and the U.S., she grew concerned about her relatives and other Iranians. She decided to protest the military action.
Some celebrations broke out in the Iranian capital and elsewhere in the country following news that its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in U.S. and Israeli attacks, according to a Western diplomat in Tehran and videos shared on social media.
People in the capital shouted joyously out their windows, and drivers in the streets honked their horns, the diplomat said. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
Videos posted widely on social media, which could not be immediately verified by The Washington Post, showed a crowed toppling a government statue in Iran’s southern Fars province, and similar scenes in the country’s western Ilam province.
It was not possible to know how widespread the celebrations were. Reports from inside the country earlier Saturday indicated increased government security forces on the streets. Internet access inside Iran remained heavily restricted after authorities imposed a near-total blackout after the strikes began.