Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for nearly four decades, has been killed in a joint US and Israeli strike, according to multiple Iranian state media outlets. His death marks a seismic shift for the Islamic Republic and the wider Middle East.

“The Supreme Leader of Iran Has Reached Martyrdom,” state broadcaster IRIB reported Sunday morning.

Fars News Agency reported that Khamenei was killed “in his office in the household of the leader” while “carrying out his duties” during an attack early Saturday.

US and Israeli officials had declared hours earlier that Khamenei had been killed in coordinated strikes targeting the Iranian regime. Satellite images from Airbus showed black smoke rising from his Tehran compound and appeared to show severe damage to several buildings.

Strikes Follow Months of Escalation

The attack came after months of mounting pressure on Tehran. American and Israeli forces had already struck Iranian targets in June 2025 during a 12-day war aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear program and degrading its defenses.

US President Donald Trump said at the time that Iranian nuclear facilities had been “obliterated.”

In the months that followed, Iran faced renewed domestic unrest. Protests that began over economic grievances spread across all 31 provinces. The regime responded with a sweeping crackdown that killed thousands, drawing international condemnation.

On Saturday, Trump said the US military was undertaking a “massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests.” He urged the Iranian people to “take over your government,” adding that they now “have a president who is giving you what you want, so let’s see how you respond.”

The February 28 strikes specifically targeted Khamenei and other senior leaders, devastating parts of his residence and offices in Tehran.

Architect of the ‘Axis of Resistance’

Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Over the next 36 years, he consolidated control over the armed forces, judiciary, intelligence services and state media, ensuring no major decision occurred without his approval.

Under his leadership, Iran expanded its regional influence through what became known as the “Axis of Resistance,” a network of allied groups across the Middle East. This strategy allowed Tehran to project power indirectly against Israel and the United States.

For decades, Iran avoided major direct attacks on its own soil even as it backed proxy forces abroad. That deterrence began to erode after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Israel launched a devastating war on Hamas, targeted Hezbollah in Lebanon and later struck Iranian-linked assets in Syria.

In June 2025, Israel carried out an unprecedented direct strike on Iran, drawing the United States into the conflict. Six months later, Iran had lost significant leverage, including damage to its nuclear infrastructure and regional proxies.

The Nuclear Program and Isolation

Khamenei’s advancement of Iran’s nuclear program defined much of his rule. He maintained that the program was peaceful and issued a religious decree declaring nuclear weapons forbidden under Islam. Still, uranium enrichment became the central flashpoint between Tehran and the West.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action temporarily eased tensions in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear activities. But after Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, Iran gradually reduced its compliance.

Khamenei doubled down on what he called a “resistance economy,” emphasizing self-sufficiency and defiance. Sanctions deepened economic hardship, leaving Iran increasingly isolated and its currency weakened.

By the time reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian took office in 2024 promising renewed engagement, hopes for economic relief were already fragile. Talks resumed through Omani mediation, and Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said a deal was “within reach” just days before the latest strikes.

Those negotiations were overtaken by military action.

Crushing Dissent at Home

Khamenei’s rule was marked by repeated crackdowns on dissent. He supported the suppression of the 2009 Green Movement protests and later backed security forces during demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.

Hundreds were killed and thousands arrested during those protests. His critics described him as intolerant of reform and determined to preserve clerical authority at any cost.

Supporters, however, viewed him as steadfast. They argue he resisted foreign pressure and preserved Iran’s sovereignty in the face of decades of sanctions and threats.

An Uncertain Future for Iran

Khamenei was only the second supreme leader of the Islamic Republic and the longest-serving. His death leaves a vacuum at the center of Iran’s political and religious system.

Iran’s constitution outlines a process for selecting a new supreme leader, but the transition comes at a moment of economic strain, weakened regional influence and ongoing confrontation with Israel and the United States.

For hard-liners, his death may reinforce a belief that engagement with the West is futile. For reformists and protesters, it may represent a rare opening in a system long defined by one man’s authority.

The coming weeks are likely to determine whether Iran doubles down on confrontation or seeks a new path in the absence of the leader who shaped its trajectory for nearly four decades.

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