This is a developing story. More to follow very soon.
EDIT 1
Supreme Ayatollah Khamenei was killed a few moments ago, a senior Israeli official told journalists off the record.
Footage of Khamenei’s body was allegedly presented to Prime Minister Netanyahu a few minutes ago. No official statement has been published.
EDIT 2
Videos in Farsi published on social media show some people cheering in Tehran from their apartments.
https://x.com/ManotoNews/status/2027835583146463736
These videos are not authentified. They could very well be true or AI.
EDIT 3
Headline of Maariv newspaper is now “Khamenei is killed”
“After decades of absolute rule, Israel confirms that the end of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has come”
EDIT 4
Reuters says Khamenei has been killed according to an Israeli official.
Iran DENIES the information and says Ayatollah Khamenei is fully in command.
https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-crisis-live-explosions-tehran-israel-announces-strike-2026-02-28/
EDIT 6
Some Iranian opposition accounts are celebrating.
Association of French-Iranian women says “YES, Finally”
https://x.com/femmeazadi/status/2027836456119443519
Iranian Sana Ebrahimi published video of herself dancing
https://x.com/__Injaneb96/status/2027841112610676910
EDIT 7
Politician Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Canadian Opposition, claims Ayatollah Khamenei is killed
https://x.com/PierrePoilievre/status/2027845628391526774
EDIT 8
I̶D̶F̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶f̶i̶r̶m̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶a̶t̶h̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶K̶h̶a̶m̶e̶n̶e̶i̶
The IDF said several Iranian leaders are killed, including the Defense Minister and Ali Shamkhani, the closest advisor of the Ayatollah
EDIT 9
Iranian Researcher Khosrol Isfahani published videos of people honking in the streets on social media
https://x.com/KhosroIsfahani/status/2027839875500912833
EDIT 10
Donald Trump told NBC News that he feels reports about the death of Khamenei are correct.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-responds-reports-ayatollah-death-rcna261149
EDIT 11
Iran International, the largest Iranian political opposition network, says Ayatollah Khamenei have been killed according to their own sources.
https://x.com/IranIntl_En/status/2027846843061633455
https://www.iranintl.com/fa/liveblog/20260228-Iranwar
EDIT 12
A french far-left politician who was questioned by police about her support for Hamas-Hezbollah just published a burning american flag. She really mad.
EDIT 13
Farnaz Fassihi, an iranian-american journalist, says she spoke on the phone with her sources in Tehran
Many people are celebrating but she says the information is NOT confirmed.
🚨 New York Times claims Trump confirms
EDIT 14
Official statement from the White House.
IT’S OVER FOLKS !!!
Given the viciousness and the firepower both US and Israel can bring to bare, it’s very possible they killed him.
Also possible they’re just announcing this to further domestic unrest. If Khamenei doesn’t stick his head out to announce he’s alive, it will be that much easier to flip generals or city leaders who think they’ll need to surrender in order to survive.
“We’ll be greeted as liberators”
No shortage of people in Iran who hate the Ayatollah. But it’s unlikely you’ll find folks under active bombardment feeling in the mood to cheer at any news.
Flip to what, though?
Iran was built to be redundant, and the protest movement is just a protest movement, to date. This isn’t going to be a clean transition to a different united regime.
Reza Pahlavi appears to be the current useful idiot of the West
He’s about as prepared to run Iran as I am. Well, I guess he speaks the language at least. It’s not like you get one guy people don’t hate/sorta like and just plug them in, though.
Who does have organisation and some support is the IRGC and the normal military. And probably all kinds of paramilitary movements on the peripheries. If Trump was going to send in troops and occupy it on the ground, they could try to slap together a shitty government of misfits like in Iraq, but he’s not.
I guess he doesn’t have to have many qualifications here. He just has to be prepared to sell all their oil to their glorious liberators at discount rates.
Then if China want any oil, they’ll have to come begging to Trump for it.
It’s not about qualifications, it’s about why would anybody in Iran listen to him? This is military logic, it’s not like you take out the previous guy and then everyone listens to you; you have to make them. As it is, Trump might as well declare the guy in charge of the UK. Brits would about as motivated to give up their money when it comes time to pay him taxes.
If there were American troops on the ground they could make it meaningful, but there won’t be, and an airstrike isn’t precise enough to enforce laws.