The Latest : Trump says Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead

2news.com · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, President Donald Trump said, calling it the “single greatest chance” for the Iranian people to “take back” their country.The death occurred after a joint U.S. and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” was to continue through the week or longer. There was no immediate comment from Iran on Khamenei's status.The strikes opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran, marking the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the country during talks over its nuclear program. The reported killing of Khameini after decades in power appeared certain to create a significant leadership vacuum given the absence of a known successor and because the Supreme Leader had final say on all major policies.Earlier, Iran had retaliated to the U.S. and Israeli attacks by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.Here's the latest:Israel says woman in the Tel Aviv area died from Iranian missile attackIsrael’s rescue services, Magen David Adom, said Saturday night that a woman in the Tel Aviv area had died after being injured in an Iranian missile attack.It was the first death announced in Israel since the exchange of missiles began Saturday morning. It came after a heavy barrage of Iranian missiles targeted central Israel, damaging buildings and setting fires.The service did not immediately identify the woman or give more more details on what happened.Magen David Adom says it has so far treated at least 90 people lightly injured in Israel and one man who was seriously injured.Iranian official says Israel and US will ‘regret their actions’Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, said Saturday that Israel and America will “regret their actions.”“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,” Larijani posted on X.Rubio cancels planned visit to Israel next week after Iran attacksU.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has canceled a planned trip to Israel early next week following US and Israeli military strikes on Iran.The State Department said the trip that had been set for Monday and Tuesday was now off. There was no indication if it would be rescheduled.“Due to current circumstances, Secretary Rubio will no longer travel to Israel on March 2,” said Dylan Johnson, the assistant Secretary of State for public affairs.Dubai airport says 4 injured in ballistic missile attackDubai International Airport — the largest in the United Arab Emirates and one of the busiest in the world — said Saturday that four people were injured as the Emirates condemned what it called a “blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles.”Strikes were also reported at other commercial airports in the region, including Kuwait International. Other airports closed and canceled flights.Trump says bombing of Iran will continue through week or longerU.S. President Donald Trump in his social media post said the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would not bring an end to the joint airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel.“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!” Trump said.The president stresses that his hope was for the Iranian government to join with the opposition.U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead, saying his passing is “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”The death occurred after a joint U.S. and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites.Trump in his post called Khamenei “one of the most evil people in history.”Trump said that Khamenei “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 says he believes Iran’s supreme leader is deadU.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with ABC News he believes Iran’s supreme leader is dead.The president was asked if Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the Isreal-U.S. attack and he said, “We believe so.” But he also said: “I don’t want to say anything definitively until I see things but we believe he is. And much of their leaders are gone.”Trump said the U.S. had “great intelligence” and that it believes much of the Iranian leadership “is gone.”ABC News did not release audio of the interview.UN chief calls for end to hostilities, return to US-Iran talksSecretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that “everything must be done to prevent a further escalation.”“The alternative,” he warned, “is a potential wider conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability.”Guterres reiterated his earlier condemnation of the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes for violating Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and international law, including the U.N. Charter – and he also condemned Iran’s retaliatory attacks for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.Shrapnel from Iranian missile attack injures man in Tel Aviv areaIsrael’s Magen David Adom rescue service says rocket shrapnel from the latest Iranian missile attack has seriously injured a man in the Tel Aviv area. It marks the first serious injury to be reported in Israel since the exchange of missiles began. Magen David Adom says it has also treated 90 casualties, all in mild condition.No one has been killed in Israel.Israel’s U.N. ambassador calls condemnation of airstrikes ‘hypocrisy’Danny Danon told reporters ahead of an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Iran is responsible for escalating actions by its proxies and its nuclear and missile programs, and “now Israel and the U.S. act to prevent an irreversible and immediate threat.”He did not respond to a question asking whether he could confirm the death of Iran’s supreme leader. But he said: “We will continue to target the leadership of the radical regime and we will do whatever necessary to enable the right conditions for the people of Iran and stability for the region.”How long will it take? “As long as it will take to achieve the goals,” Danon replied.Everyone is watching the situation on the ground, he said, and “the time for the Iranian people to take control of the future is very soon.Most of Iran’s senior leadership is ‘gone’ — TrumpAsked about reports that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in airstrikes on Saturday, President Donald Trump said: “We feel that that is a correct story.”In a brief phone interview with NBC News, Trump said “a large amount of leadership” of Iran had been killed, adding: “I don’t mean like two people.”He also said “most” of Iran’s senior leadership is “gone,” including many people who make decisions.Asked who might now become Iran’s new supreme leader, Trump joked, “I don’t know. But at some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I’d like” before noting he was being “only being a little sarcastic” in suggesting that.Iran’s defense minister and Revolutionary Guard commander killed, says IsraelIsrael’s military has named some of the top members of Iran’s leadership it says were killed in its first round of Saturday strikes on Iran. Neither Iran nor the U.S. commented on or confirmed the claims.Israel said the strikes killed Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran's Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.The military also said its strikes took out Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Iranian Security Council and a close adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and Mohammad Shirazi, the head of Khamenei’s military bureau.Khamenei is dead, Israeli officials tell APIsraeli officials told The Associated Press Saturday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. or Iran on his status.The assassination of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would throw its future into doubt.In a nationally televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “growing signs” that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday.Shortly after the address, two Israeli officials said Israel had confirmed his death. The officials both spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement and gave no further details.Iraqi group claims drone attack on U.S. base in IrbilA group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq-Brigades of the Guardians of Blood in a statement claimed that it launched a drone attack on a U.S. base in Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region.Earlier Saturday, a number of missiles and drones were intercepted over Irbil.The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that has previously launched attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria.Iran’s conventional missile capability was an ‘intolerable’ risk, says US officialA senior Trump administration official says Iran’s conventional missile capability presented an “intolerable” risk to the U.S., and that that reality has since been demonstrated by Tehran’s strikes around the region after the U.S.-Israeli attack.On a call with reporters, the official said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had briefed top leaders in Congress. Rubio made it clear then that Iran was ready to use conventional missiles against U.S. forces in the Middle East, the officia