An Iranian state television anchor broke into tears while delivering news of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei's death. Video circulating on social media captured the anchor continuing the broadcast while sobbing.
The Iranian government officially confirmed Khamenei's death on Saturday (local time), declaring a 40-day national mourning period and one week of public holidays. State broadcaster Press TV and state news agency IRNA reported that "the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Khamenei, was martyred in attacks by the United States and Israel." Mehr News Agency stated that "at the time of his martyrdom, Khamenei was performing his duties at his office," adding that "the cowardly attack took place on Saturday morning (February 28)."
The exact time of Khamenei's death has not been confirmed. Local media reported he died at his Tehran office, while U.S. outlets released satellite images showing the destruction of the heavily secured compound in northern Tehran where he primarily stayed. According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. and Israel deemed it "the perfect opportunity" when three meetings of Iranian leadership were detected simultaneously, launching the daytime airstrike. Amos Yadlin, former commander of Israeli Military Intelligence, told WSJ that "unlike the nighttime strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last June, this daytime attack was a tactical surprise."
The attack killed not only Khamenei but also key figures in Iran's command structure, including Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, and Ali Shamkhani, former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and military advisor to the Supreme Leader. Approximately 30 bombs were concentrated on Khamenei's location in a massive operation involving around 200 Israeli fighter jets striking over 500 targets. On the day of the attack, two U.S. aircraft carriers and approximately 12 destroyers equipped with ship-to-ground missiles were on standby in the Middle East. While Israeli forces targeted key Iranian figures and missile capabilities, U.S. forces handled missile infrastructure and military targets. Analysts say the operation was made possible by Israeli intelligence gathering capabilities and the largest U.S. firepower deployment to the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq War.
Cyber attacks were conducted in parallel. Israel hacked a Muslim prayer time app to send messages urging Iranian soldiers to rebel and calling on citizens to stand against the government. The IRNA website was also hacked, displaying on its homepage: "A fearful time has come for the security forces of the Ayatollah regime. The IRGC and its affiliated militia, the Basij, have suffered a fatal blow."