Iranian leader Khamenei killed in strikes, Trump says – SABC News

The United States and Israel launched the most ambitious attack on Iran in decades on Saturday, and US President Donald Trump said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the operation.
A senior Israeli official told Reuters earlier that the Iranian leader’s body had been found after a strike and Trump said the US worked closely with Israel to target the man who led Iransince 1989.
Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Mehr, however, reported that the supreme leader was “steadfast and firm in commanding the field.”
Iran called the strikes unprovoked and illegal and responded with missiles fired at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host US bases.
Trump, who made the biggest foreign-policy gamble of his presidency after campaigning for re-election as a “peace president,” said the strikes were aimed at ending a decades-long threat from Iran and ensuring it could not develop a nuclear weapon.
Intelligence and tracking systems kept track of Khamenei’s whereabouts, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, adding that “there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.”

President Trump says Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/tJMQ7qNNAH
— Sherwin Bryce-Pease (@sherwiebp) February 28, 2026

Trump reiterated calls for Iranians to topple the government but warned: “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!”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said Khamenei’s compound had been destroyed.
Three sources familiar with the matter said Iranian Defence Minister Amir Nasirzadeh and Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammed Pakpour were killed in the Israeli attacks.
Israel’s military said it had confirmed that five other senior military commanders were among the dead, including Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader.
Iranian media had said Khamenei’s son-in-law and daughter-in-law were also killed.

Dubai’s international airport sustained damage during an overnight Iranian attack on sites across the Arab Gulf states, aviation sources said early on Sunday, and authorities said four people were injured.
Dubai’s media office said on X that a concourse at Dubai International (DXB) sustained minor damage in an incident, which was quickly contained, without giving further details.
Aviation sources told Reuters that one of the terminals at the airport, normally one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs, was damaged during an overnight Iranian attack that authorities publicly referred to only as an incident.
The sources also said Abu Dhabi International Airport had been hit.
They did not specify whether the two airports suffered direct impacts or whether the damage was caused by debris falling after missile interceptions.
There was no immediate reply to requests for comment Reuters sent to Dubai Airports or to Abu Dhabi Airports Company.
 

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