A major attack launched by Israel and the United States killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Donald Trump said Saturday, announcing an assassination that he said gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country but that also put the future of the Islamic Republic in doubt and raised the risk of regional instability. The attack opened a stunning new chapter in US intervention in Iran, carried the potential for retaliatory violence and a wider war, and represented a startling flex of military might for an American president who swept into office on an “America First” platform and vowed to keep out of “forever wars.” If confirmed, the killing of Khamenei in the second Trump administration assault on Iran in eight months appeared certain to create a leadership vacuum given the absence of a known successor and because the 86-year-old supreme leader had final say on all major policies during his decades in power. Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of Khamenei, the second leader of the Islamic Republic who succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Author: AP- PTI
Published at: 2026-02-28 22:43:27
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