The Latest: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei killed in US-Israeli attack

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.

Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old's death early Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump had announced his death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.

The announcements came 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 as long as necessary.

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 killing of Khamenei 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.

On Sunday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its “most-intense offensive operation” ever targeting Israel and U.S. bases.

Here is the latest:

Some airports across the Middle East remained closed on Sunday as the conflict between Israel, the U.S., and Iran moved into its second day.

Emirates Airlines has suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Sunday afternoon.

The Qatar airport is closed until at least Monday morning, according to Qatar Airways.

Israeli airspace also remains closed.

The closures have stranded tens of thousands of travelers around the world.

The commander of the U.S. Central Command says his forces are taking part in military operations in the region during the first 24 hours of “Operation Epic Fury.”

“The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” a statement quoted the head of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, as saying.

Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister were killed in an airstrike targeting a meeting of the country’s defense council, Iranian state television reported Sunday.

Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed at the meeting alongside the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and security adviser Ali Shamkhani, whose deaths Iran previously announced Sunday morning.

Iran did not elaborate on when the strike took place that killed the four men. The American-Israeli campaign began with intense airstrikes on Tehran on Saturday.

Airport authorities in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali said more than 1,600 tourists were stranded at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Sunday after several flights to the Middle East were canceled or postponed due to airspace closures in a number of countries.

Five flights to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha operated by Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways were affected, involving 1,631 passengers, according to state‑owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia.

The airport said overall operations remained normal and passengers were being handled under airline policies while authorities coordinated with airlines and air navigation officials.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for “de-escalation and prioritizing diplomacy” to avert “comprehensive chaos” in the region.

“There is no alternative to dialogue to address the current crises,” he said.

Abdelatty’s comment came in a phone call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

The U.S. Embassy in Jordan urged Americans in the Kingdom to remain indoors as Iran continued its attacks across the Gulf Arab states and Israel.

The embassy made the warning Sunday morning in a post on X, citing reports of “missiles, drones, or rockets are in Jordanian airspace.”

Protesters have taken to the streets in the Iraqi capital early Sunday to denounce the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Associated Press journalists saw dozens of people attempting to cross a bridge leading to Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses Iraqi government buildings and the sprawling U.S. Embassy.

Gunshots were heard and smoke was seen rising in the area, according to AP footage.

Qatar’s Interior Ministry said eight people were wounded early Sunday in Iranian attacks on the country, raising the total number of those wounded since strikes began the day before to 16.

The ministry said attacks also caused “limited” material damages.

It urged people in Qatar to stay home and only go out in case of emergency and keep roads open for ambulances.

Ebrahim Taheri, a Minab prosecutor, told the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan News Agency that the death toll from Saturday’s U.S and Israeli strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran’s Minab county has risen to 148 killed and 95 wounded.

Trump warned Iran on Sunday not to escalate its attacks, writing online that American forces will strike back ’WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

Trump’s comments on Truth Social follow Iranian threats on Sunday morning after acknowledging the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” Trump wrote.

“THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

Iran’s parliament speaker on Sunday called the leaders of the United States and Israel “filthy criminals” who will face “devastating blows” for their ongoing attacks on the Islamic Republic.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the comment in a televised address.

Qalibaf is the highest-ranking official to appear on camera since the attacks began Saturday.

“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” he said. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”

President Javier Milei praised the joint operation carried out by the United States and Israel that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom he described as “one of the most evil, violent, and cruel individuals in modern history.”

In his statement, Milei also recalled the 1994 attack on the Argentine Jewish community center, known as AMIA, in Buenos Aires. The bombing killed 85 people and injured hundreds, marking one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history.

The president reaffirmed that pursuing justice for the victims of the AMIA bombing remains a state policy. “We will continue until the last person responsible pays with his freedom or his life for this horrific crime,” Milei said.

A Chinese organization is registering Chinese citizens in Iran for evacuation to neighboring countries, according to a media report.

More than 200 Chinese are scattered across Iran, Tan Kai, the president of the Iran Federation of Chinese Organizations, told the Global Times newspaper. The group is making evacuation preparations at the instruction of the Chinese Embassy, Tan said.

An embassy statement said the land borders with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey were open for individuals wishing to depart on their own.

In Israel, the Chinese embassy advised citizens to move to safe areas away from the centers of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem and airports, power stations and similar sites. It said it would begin registering citizens on Sunday who wish to evacuate to Egypt and cannot do so on their own.

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were killed in American-Israel airstrikes on the country, state media reported Sunday.

The state-run IRNA news agency announced the death of Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who took over as the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its past commander in the 12-day June war.

Also killed was Ali Shamkhani, long a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, IRNA said. Shamkhani was wounded in the June war.

A council has formed to govern Iran after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

That council is enshrined in law in the Islamic Republic. It is made up of Iran’s sitting president, the head of the country’s judiciary and a member of the Guardian Council chosen by Iran’s Expediency Council, which advises the supreme leader and settles disputes with parliament.

Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei are on it.

Iranian law says the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible,” pick a new supreme leader.

A group of men wave Iranian flags as they attend a demonstration in support of the government and against U.S. and Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An incoming projectile explodes over the water as Israel issues a nationwide alert following its strikes on Iran, in Haifa Bay, northern Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo)

Ruins remain in the aftermath of an Israeli-U.S. strike in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Amir Kholousi/ISNA)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister were killed in an airstrike targeting a meeting of the country’s defense council, Iranian state television reported Sunday.

Gen. Abdol Rahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed at the meeting alongside the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and security adviser Ali Shamkhani, whose deaths Iran previously announced Sunday morning.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired missiles at targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states Sunday after vowing massive retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by the United States and Israel, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten Tehran against further escalation.

Iran acknowledged 86-year-old Khamenei’s death in the joint Israeli-American airstrike Saturday at his Tehran office, which has thrown the future of the Islamic Republic into question and raised the risk of regional instability.

“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” Trump said.

Iran’s Cabinet vowed that this “great crime will never go unanswered” and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever, targeting Israeli and American bases.

“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a televised address Sunday. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”

“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” Trump fired back in a social media post. “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

After the initial strikes, Iran immediately launched missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. The Israeli military said Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel, with many intercepted. The Magen David Adom rescue service said Saturday night that a woman in the Tel Aviv area died after being wounded in an Iranian missile attack.

Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defense fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital, with explosions continuing into Sunday morning. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the UAE capital killed one person, state media said, and debris from aerial interceptions caused fires at the city’s main port and on the facade of the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel.

Saudi Arabia said Iran targeted its capital and eastern region in an attack that was repelled and Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles.

The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. A third of worldwide oil exports transported by sea passed through the strait in 2025.

The attack on Iran opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention, and carried the potential for retaliatory violence and a wider war, representing 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.”

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 supreme leader had final say on all major policies during his decades in power. He led Iran’s clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the governing theocracy.

Iran quickly formed a council to govern the country until a new supreme leader is chosen.

State media also reported the deaths of the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser to Khamenei in airstrikes. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour took over as the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its past commander in the 12-day war last June. The adviser, Ali Shamkhani, had long been a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, IRNA said.

As reports trickled out about Khamenei’s death, eyewitnesses in Tehran told The Associated Press that some residents were rejoicing, cheering from rooftops, blowing whistles and letting out ululations.

Mourners raised a black flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad and the Iranian government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death.

Citing unidentified sources, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported that several relatives of Khamenei were also killed, including a daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and grandchild.

The joint U.S.-Israel operation, which officials say was planned for months, started Saturday during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan and at the start of the Iranian workweek. It followed stilted negotiations and warnings from Trump.

The U.S. military said targets in Iran included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense systems, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields. It reported no U.S. casualties and minimal damage at U.S. bases despite “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.”

Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorization. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the administration had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance.

Tensions have soared in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program while the country struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests.

Though Trump had pronounced the Iranian nuclear program obliterated in strikes last year, the country was rebuilding infrastructure that it had lost, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss Trump’s decision-making process. The official said intelligence showed that Iran had developed the capability to produce its own high-quality centrifuges, an important step in developing the highly enriched uranium needed for weapons.

Iran had said it hoped to avert a war, but it maintained its right to enrich uranium.

Iran has said it has not enriched since June, but it has blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites the U.S. bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by AP have shown new activity at two of those sites, suggesting Iran is trying to assess and potentially recover material.

Israel said the operation had been planned for months with the United States. Air Force pilots struck “hundreds of targets across Iran,” Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a statement.

Targets in the Israeli campaign included Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information on the attack.

In southern Iran, at least 115 people were reported killed when a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, the local governor told Iranian state TV. U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said he was “aware of reports” that a girls’ school was struck and that officials were looking into them.

An Iranian diplomat told the United Nations Security Council that hundreds of civilians were killed and wounded in the strikes.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA said at least 15 people were killed in the southwest, quoting the governor of the Lamerd region, Ali Alizadeh, as saying a sports hall, two residential areas and a hall near a school were hit.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv. Boak reported from West Palm Beach, Florida. Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Aamer Madhani and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Farnoush Amiri in New York, David Rising in Bangkok and AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.

A government supporter holds a picture of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Israel's air defense missile fires to intercept missiles from Iran over Israel, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Government supporters mourn in a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Government supporters chant slogans as they gather in mourning after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)