LIVE WITH CONSTANT UPDATES: Trump Confirms Khamenei Dead; CNN Reports Ali Larijani Now Running Iran Following Khamenei's Death
Israeli Military Names Seven Senior Iranian Officials Killed in Strikes — Iran's Foreign Minister Partially Confirms Deaths
U.S. President Donald Trump has officially confirmed the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, posting a lengthy statement on his Truth Social account on Saturday evening in which he declared Khamenei "one of the most evil people in History" and announced that U.S. and Israeli bombing operations will continue "throughout the week or as long as necessary." The announcement ends the last remaining ambiguity about Khamenei's fate and marks a defining moment in modern history.
Trump Confirms: Khamenei Is Dead
In a post on his Truth Social account, President Donald J. Trump wrote: "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead."
Trump said the killing was the result of American intelligence and what he described as "Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems," operating in close coordination with Israel. He stated that Khamenei "was unable to avoid" these systems and that "there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do" — confirming for the first time that multiple senior Iranian leaders were killed alongside Khamenei in the strikes.
Trump framed the killing as justice not only for the Iranian people but for Americans and citizens of many countries "killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS."
In a direct appeal to Iran's security forces, Trump extended an offer of immunity to members of the IRGC, military and police who choose to stand down, writing: "Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death." He expressed hope that the IRGC and police forces would "peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots" to help restore Iran to what he called its deserved greatness, adding that he was already receiving signals that "many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces no longer want to fight and are looking for Immunity."
Trump confirmed that the military campaign is far from over, stating that "heavy and pinpoint bombing will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary" to achieve what he described as the objective of "PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD."
He also described Iran as having been, "in only one day, very much destroyed and, even, obliterated."
A New Guy in Charge?
CNN is reporting that Ali Larijani is currently running Iran in the wake of the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to the U.S. broadcaster. The development represents the first concrete indication of who has assumed de facto control of the Islamic Republic in the chaotic hours following the most devastating leadership decapitation in the country's history.
Ali Larijani is one of the Islamic Republic's most senior and experienced political figures. A former Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, former Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and long-time close confidant of Khamenei himself, Larijani has for decades been among the most powerful men in Iran's political establishment. He ran unsuccessfully for president on multiple occasions and has been widely regarded as one of the few figures capable of bridging the gap between the regime's hardline and more pragmatic factions.
His emergence as the man now running Iran — if confirmed — would suggest that what remains of the Islamic Republic's civilian and political leadership has moved to assert some degree of authority before, or alongside, the IRGC's own reported push to impose a new Supreme Leader before dawn on Sunday. Whether Larijani is acting with the blessing of the IRGC, in competition with it, or as a transitional compromise figure acceptable to all remaining factions remains critically unclear.
A Power Struggle at the Top?
CNN's report raises urgent questions about whether Iran is now witnessing not only a leadership vacuum but an active contest for power between competing institutional forces. On one side, Iran International has reported that the IRGC was pushing to appoint a new Supreme Leader outside all constitutional formalities before dawn on Sunday. On the other, the emergence of Larijani — a civilian political figure, not a military one — as the man reportedly running the country suggests that not all surviving power centres within the Islamic Republic are willing to cede authority entirely to the Revolutionary Guards.
President Trump, in his Truth Social post, noted that many IRGC and security forces are already "looking for immunity" — a signal that the coercive apparatus underpinning any potential IRGC power grab may itself be rapidly eroding.
The Constitutional Vacuum
Under the Islamic Republic's constitution, the death of a Supreme Leader should trigger the convening of the Assembly of Experts to appoint a successor. That process is effectively paralysed: U.S. and Israeli airstrikes are continuing, the Assembly cannot convene under fire, and — as Iran International reported — the IRGC has already sought to bypass it entirely. Larijani's reported assumption of day-to-day control may represent an improvised stopgap — a recognisable, senior political face to project some semblance of state continuity to both the Iranian public and the outside world, even as the deeper question of supreme leadership remains violently unresolved.
Context: The Scale of What Has Been Lost
To understand the magnitude of the vacuum Larijani is now reportedly attempting to fill, it is worth recalling the full picture now confirmed or reported: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed; IRGC Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour killed; Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh killed; Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani killed; the heads of Iran's defense industries, the Supreme Leader's military office, and IRGC intelligence all killed — all in a single night of U.S.-Israeli strikes. No modern state has lost this concentration of leadership in a single operation and emerged unchanged.
Newer Information
The Israeli military has published a detailed list of seven senior Islamic Republic officials killed during Saturday's joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, according to IranWire. The announcement dramatically expands the known scope of the decapitation operation against the Islamic Republic's leadership, going well beyond the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — which Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had announced earlier in the day.
According to a statement published by the Israeli army and reported by IranWire, the following senior figures of the Islamic Republic were killed in Saturday's strikes:
1. Mohammad Pakpour — Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The elimination of the IRGC's top commander in tandem with the Supreme Leader represents a devastating simultaneous blow to the apex of Iran's military command.
2. Ali Shamkhani — Secretary of the Defense Council of the Islamic Republic and senior adviser to Khamenei. Shamkhani had previously survived an Israeli strike during the 12-day war, after which he was appointed to his current position as Defense Council Secretary. He did not survive Saturday's operation.
3. Aziz Nasirzadeh — Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic, according to the Israeli military statement.
4. Hossein Jabal-Amilian — Head of the "Sepand" organisation, responsible for Iran's military and defense industries. His killing strikes directly at the institutional backbone of Iran's weapons production and procurement infrastructure.
5. Reza Mozaffari-Nia — Former Director General of the "Sepand" organisation, also listed among those killed.
6. Mohammad Shirazi — Head of the Supreme Leader's Military Office, the body responsible for direct military coordination with Khamenei himself.
7. Saleh Asadi — Head of Intelligence of the Khatam al-Anbiya Base of the IRGC, Iran's primary military engineering and construction command, which also oversees a vast network of strategic military projects.
In a significant and telling admission, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi implicitly acknowledged the deaths of senior military figures on Saturday, confirming — albeit cautiously — the killing of "one or two commanders." He sought to downplay the significance of the losses, stating that "the situation does not change with such events." The carefully worded statement is nonetheless the closest Tehran has come to an official acknowledgement of the catastrophic losses it has suffered, and stands in sharp contrast to the complete silence from Iranian authorities on the fate of Khamenei himself.
The picture now emerging from Israeli military statements and IranWire's reporting is one of a meticulously planned, simultaneous elimination of virtually the entire apex of the Islamic Republic's military and security leadership. In a single operation, Israel and the United States appear to have killed the Supreme Leader, the IRGC Commander-in-Chief, the Defense Minister, the head of defense industries, the head of Supreme Leader's military office, and two additional senior intelligence and defense figures.
The combined effect on Iran's military command and control — already described by Iran International as fragmented and partially collapsed — cannot be overstated. The Islamic Republic has been deprived, in one night, of the chain of authority that has governed its armed forces for decades. That Iran's own Foreign Minister has felt compelled to even partially confirm some of these deaths speaks to the impossibility of maintaining total silence in the face of what has occurred.
Earlier Information
In a catastrophic widening of the conflict, Iranian forces have launched a sweeping wave of drone and missile attacks across the Persian Gulf region, striking Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, as Arabic-language news sources report in the past two hours. This comes as the Islamic Republic's own security establishment effectively confirms Khamenei's death, with the IRGC racing to appoint a new Supreme Leader before dawn — outside all constitutional norms — amid reports of command collapse, military insubordination, and fears of mass street uprisings at sunrise.
Khamenei's death, while still without formal official confirmation, is now being treated as a fait accompli by the Islamic Republic's own security establishment.
Bahrain: Residential Tower and U.S. Fifth Fleet Headquarters Hit
Arabic news outlets report a dramatic and deeply alarming escalation in Bahrain. A drone attack struck a residential tower in the capital Manama, triggering a violent explosion that shook the surrounding area. In a direct blow to U.S. military power in the region, Iranian forces also struck the U.S. Naval Base in Juffair — headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. Air-raid sirens have been activated across Manama. Specific casualty figures for the residential tower are still being verified, but the psychological impact on the civilian population has been severe, with residents advised to seek shelter immediately.
Kuwait: International Airport Struck, Civil Aviation Suspended
Kuwait has also come under direct attack. A drone strike hit Kuwait International Airport, causing fires and resulting in several civilian injuries, according to Arabic sources. All civil aviation activities in the country have been immediately suspended. A U.S. military base in Kuwait was also targeted, though interceptions were reported. In response to what it called "sinful attacks," the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Iranian ambassador to deliver a formal protest, condemning the violation of its sovereignty and international law.
United Arab Emirates: Palm Jumeirah Targeted, One Dead in Abu Dhabi
The UAE has been among the most heavily targeted states in the Iranian barrage. Arabic sources report a drone attack near the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai — one of the most iconic residential and tourist destinations in the world. An earlier explosion in Abu Dhabi resulted in at least one confirmed fatality. The UAE's advanced air defence systems have been actively engaged, intercepting numerous ballistic missiles and drones over both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Residents across the emirates received emergency alerts on their mobile devices warning of incoming missile attacks and instructing them to remain indoors.
Qatar and Jordan: Missiles Intercepted
A ballistic missile targeting Doha airspace was intercepted by Patriot air defence systems, according to Arabic sources. In Jordan, 13 missiles and dozens of drones were intercepted as Iranian projectiles transited or targeted Jordanian airspace. Iran has officially declared all U.S. military bases in the region "legitimate targets," framing its attacks as a necessary response to U.S.-Israeli aggression.
Saudi Arabia: Diplomatic Mobilisation, Humanitarian Response
While Saudi Arabia has not reported direct hits on its territory in the past two hours, Riyadh has been central to the regional response. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held urgent discussions with the German Chancellor to address the escalation and its implications for global security. King Salman has directed Saudi authorities to host Gulf citizens stranded in Saudi airports due to the sudden closure of regional airspaces. The Kingdom issued a strong statement of solidarity with its neighbours, condemning the Iranian attacks on the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait as "a threat to the entire Arab world."
IRGC: A New Supreme Leader by Dawn — Outside All Legal Norms
According to information obtained by Iran International, the surviving command structure of the IRGC is racing to determine the next Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, with a decision expected to be finalised within hours, by dawn on Sunday, March 1.
Critically, given the impossibility of convening the Assembly of Experts — the constitutional body normally tasked with selecting a Supreme Leader — under ongoing U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, the IRGC wants the appointment to be carried out outside of all legal formalities. This represents an extraordinary and unprecedented step that would fundamentally alter the nature of power within the Islamic Republic, effectively placing the IRGC in the position of kingmaker — or, more accurately, of supreme authority itself.
The move signals that those at the apex of Iran's security establishment have no doubt about Khamenei's fate and are acting with extreme urgency to prevent a total collapse of the state's authority structure before sunrise.
Chaos, Fragmentation and Insubordination Within the IRGC
Iran International's sources paint a picture of deepening crisis within Iran's military and security apparatus. Following the killing of Khamenei in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes, fragmentation and confusion within the Islamic Republic's security and military structure have intensified dramatically.
According to these sources, a part of the command hierarchy has already broken down, with the process of transferring orders and maintaining operational coordination facing severe difficulties — complications that risk further undermining field decision-making and crisis management in the critical hours and days ahead.
Perhaps most strikingly, some military commanders and lower-ranking forces have refused to report to military centres and bases, according to Iran International's sources. This insubordination stems from fears that U.S. and Israeli strikes will continue to target command and support centres — meaning that showing up for duty may be tantamount to signing one's own death warrant.
The IRGC is also reported to be deeply concerned about what Sunday morning may bring on the streets. As weather conditions are expected to clear, commanders fear a wave of popular protests and rallies will erupt across multiple cities — a scenario that, combined with the military's internal disarray, could push the Islamic Republic toward a full-scale governance collapse.
Missiles Strike Central Israel — Buildings in Flames
Iran Closes the Strait of Hormuz — Global Energy Markets in Shock
In one of the most consequential moves in the history of global energy, Iran has moved to shut down the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian territory.
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said Saturday it had received multiple reports from vessels operating in the Gulf that they had been notified of the strait's closure. Multiple vessels in the area received VHF radio transmissions from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stating that "no ship is allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz," an official with the EU naval mission Aspides told Reuters. There was no immediate confirmation from Iranian authorities.
The U.K. Royal Navy said Iran's orders were not legally binding and advised vessels to transit with caution. The tanker association INTERTANKO said the U.S. Navy had warned against navigation across the wider region — including the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the North Arabian Sea and the Strait of Hormuz — saying it could not guarantee the safety of shipping.
The U.S. Maritime Administration has advised American commercial vessels to avoid the Persian Gulf region, including the Strait of Hormuz entirely. Greece's shipping ministry similarly advised vessels to avoid the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the strait, according to an advisory seen by Reuters.
Trading sources said several tanker owners, oil majors and trading houses have already suspended crude oil, fuel and liquefied natural gas shipments via the strait. "Our ships will stay put for several days," a senior executive at a major trading desk told Reuters. Satellite images from tanker tracking services showed vessels piling up near major ports such as Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, unable or unwilling to move through Hormuz.
Fourteen LNG tankers have shown signs of slowing down, turning around, or stopping in or around the strait, according to Laura Page of consultancy Kpler, who warned the number is likely to rise — posing acute risks to Qatari LNG exports in particular.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, 170-kilometre (106-mile) sea corridor between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, lying between Iran to the north and Oman and the UAE to the south. It is the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, with a navigable width of less than 33 kilometres at its narrowest point. Approximately 20 percent of global oil supply from producers including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait and Iran transits through it daily, along with massive volumes of liquefied natural gas from Qatar.
Iran also launched strikes against Gulf countries and Jordan following the U.S.-Israeli attack, according to Reuters, further widening the scope of the confrontation.
Celebrations in Tehran — A Telling Sign
In what may be the most significant indirect indicator of Khamenei's fate, CGTN's Tehran-based correspondent reported scenes of public celebration across the Iranian capital following news of the Supreme Leader's alleged death. For decades, any public expression of opposition to Khamenei has carried the risk of imprisonment, torture, or execution. Open celebrations of this nature on the streets of Tehran would be virtually inexplicable if the reports were entirely without foundation — and are being closely monitored by intelligence services and governments worldwide.
Reuters quoted an Israeli source as saying that Khamenei's body had been located under rubble caused by an Israeli airstrike on his compound in Tehran. Documentation of the body was reportedly shown to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a televised address on Saturday evening, Netanyahu stopped short of a definitive declaration but said there were "growing indications" and "many signs" that Khamenei "is no longer," without providing further details. Earlier on Saturday, Iranian officials had promised to release a recording from Khamenei following the strikes. That recording has not materialised.
No official confirmation has been received from Israeli, American, or Iranian sources. Tehran has issued no statement on Khamenei's condition.
If Confirmed, a Historic and Dangerous Turning Point
Should the reports of Khamenei's death prove accurate, the combination of his elimination and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz would constitute a twin shock of extraordinary magnitude. Khamenei has been the ideological and political backbone of the Islamic Republic since 1989, guiding Iran's foreign policy, its nuclear programme, its network of regional proxies, and its decades-long confrontation with Israel and the West.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz adds an immediate and brutal economic dimension to the crisis. A prolonged shutdown of the strait — even for days — would send oil prices surging globally, threatening energy security across Europe, Asia and beyond. For global markets still grappling with years of post-pandemic instability, the potential blockage of a route through which one in five barrels of the world's oil passes would be nothing short of catastrophic.
Together, these developments signal that the Middle East has entered uncharted territory — and the world is watching with profound alarm.
Who Is Ali Khamenei?
Ali Hosseini Khamenei was born on April 19, 1939, in Mashhad, Iran. A cleric and close associate of the Islamic Revolution's founder Ruhollah Khomeini, he served as Iran's President from 1981 to 1989, before ascending to the position of Supreme Leader following Khomeini's death — a post he held for nearly 37 years, making him one of the longest-serving leaders in the Muslim world.
Khamenei survived several assassination attempts, most notably a bomb explosion on June 27, 1981, during a speech at a mosque in Tehran, which severely wounded him and permanently paralysed his right arm. He was 86 years old at the time of the reported strike.
He is survived by six children. His son Mojtaba Khamenei has been widely discussed in recent years as a potential successor to the supreme leadership — a prospect that would itself be deeply controversial within Iran's political establishment.