Israeli officials say Iran’s supreme leader is dead following coordinated attacks, while U.S. Central Command reports zero American casualties in what it calls the largest regional deployment of force in a generation.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting regime infrastructure in Tehran, according to Israeli officials, though Iranian authorities have issued conflicting statements about his status.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that combined operations by Israel and the United States on Feb. 28 “destroyed the compound” of Khamenei in central Tehran. Iranian leadership offices were reduced to rubble in what Israeli officials described as a targeted strike.
“There are many signs that this tyrant is no longer,” Netanyahu said during a televised address. Senior Israeli security officials later confirmed the assessment that Khamenei was dead.
However, uncertainty remained. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was earlier quoted as saying the Ayatollah was alive “as far as I know,” in reporting available here. Separate coverage from the Times of Israel reported that Araghchi reiterated Khamenei remained alive “as far as I know,” as detailed here.
U.S. Central Command, in a social media statement available here, described the campaign—dubbed “Operation Epic Fury”—as the “largest regional concentration of American military firepower in a generation.” The operation began at 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time and focused on dismantling Iran’s security apparatus.
“U.S. and partner forces began striking targets at 1:15 am ET to dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat. Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields,” CENTCOM stated.
“The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” said CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper.
CENTCOM said its forces “successfully defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks,” reporting zero American casualties or combat-related injuries during the initial phase. U.S. installations sustained only “minimal” damage, and operations were not disrupted.
The command further confirmed that the first hours of the operation involved precision munitions launched from air, land and sea, and that “low-cost one-way attack drones” were deployed in combat for the first time as part of “Task Force Scorpion Strike.”
Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported, citing U.S. officials in coverage available here, that Iran’s air defense systems were “effectively suppressed” through a “multi geographic command and control” strategy designed to overwhelm defensive capabilities. Griffin said the strikes targeted “high value targets,” including IRGC facilities, naval installations and underground sites believed linked to Iran’s nuclear program.
“There were hundreds of targets in what is being described to me as a multi-day operation,” Griffin reported, adding that officials described Iran’s retaliatory efforts as “ineffective” and said U.S. strikes had “effectively suppressed their air defenses.”
According to the Times of Israel, in reporting available here, Iran’s state-backed Red Crescent Society said at least 201 people were killed and 747 wounded across the country following the strikes.
London’s Daily Telegraph, in coverage available here, reported that the strikes affected more than 20 provinces.
Israeli forces confirmed their own large-scale participation. The Israel Defense Forces said in a social media statement available here that 200 Israeli Air Force jets carried out what it called the “largest military flyover” in the nation’s history, striking more than 500 targets, including “aerial defense systems & missile launchers” tied to the IRGC in western and central Iran.
The Times of Israel reported in live coverage available here that Khamenei and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian were among those targeted during the operation, along with IRGC commander Gen. Mohammad Pakpour and other senior defense and intelligence officials.
Satellite imagery published by New York Times reporter Christiaan Triebert, shown here, appeared to depict significant destruction at Khamenei’s compound. It remained unclear whether he was present at the time of impact.
Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said, according to state media reporting available here, that the Ministry of Petroleum had arranged “mobile gas stations” along evacuation routes from Tehran.
Iranian state media also claimed, in reporting available here, that 14 U.S. bases were struck in retaliatory missile and drone attacks. The United States has not confirmed those claims.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted here that its air defenses “successfully intercepted” Iranian attacks aimed at Riyadh and its Eastern Province. The ministry said: “These attacks cannot be justified under any pretext or in any way whatsoever, and they came despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”
Riyadh warned it “will take all necessary measures to defend its security and safeguard its territory, its citizens, and its residents, including the option of responding to the aggression.”
National security reporter John Hudson wrote here that during a brief phone call early Saturday, President Donald Trump said his primary concern was “freedom for the people” of Iran.
In a separate address reported by the Times of Israel in coverage available here, Netanyahu said: “For 47 years, the Ayatollah regime has called out ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America.’ It has shed our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people.”
“This murderous terror regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would enable it to threaten all of humanity,” he added. “Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”
“The time has come for all parts of the Iranian people — the Persians, the Kurds, the Azeris, the Baloch, and the Ahwazi — to cast off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peace-seeking Iran,” Netanyahu said.
As of Saturday evening, confirmation of Khamenei’s death remained contested, and the full scope of casualties and damage from the multi-day operation had yet to be independently verified.
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