this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2026

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435

BREAKING NEWS - Israeli media reports Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leader of Iran, was killed inside his bunker (www.maariv.co.il)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by Luriana@sh.itjust.works to c/world@lemmy.world

142 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This is a developing story. More to follow very soon.

EDIT 1

Supreme Ayatollah Khamenei was killed a few moments ago, a senior Israeli official told journalists off the record.

Footage of Khamenei’s body was allegedly presented to Prime Minister Netanyahu a few minutes ago. No official statement has been published.

EDIT 2

Videos in Farsi published on social media show some people cheering in Tehran from their apartments.

https://x.com/ManotoNews/status/2027835583146463736

These videos are not authentified. They could very well be true or AI.

EDIT 3

Headline of Maariv newspaper is now "Khamenei is killed"

"After decades of absolute rule, Israel confirms that the end of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has come"

EDIT 4

Reuters says Khamenei has been killed according to an Israeli official.

Iran DENIES the information and says Ayatollah Khamenei is fully in command.

https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-crisis-live-explosions-tehran-israel-announces-strike-2026-02-28/

EDIT 6

Some Iranian opposition accounts are celebrating.

Association of French-Iranian women says "YES, Finally"

https://x.com/femmeazadi/status/2027836456119443519

Iranian Sana Ebrahimi published video of herself dancing

https://x.com/__Injaneb96/status/2027841112610676910

EDIT 7

Politician Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Canadian Opposition, claims Ayatollah Khamenei is killed

https://x.com/PierrePoilievre/status/2027845628391526774

EDIT 8

I̶D̶F̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶f̶i̶r̶m̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶a̶t̶h̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶K̶h̶a̶m̶e̶n̶e̶i̶

The IDF said several Iranian leaders are killed, including the Defense Minister and Ali Shamkhani, the closest advisor of the Ayatollah

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-confirms-killing-top-iranian-leaders-including-top-defense-official-ali-shamkhani/

EDIT 9

Iranian Researcher Khosrol Isfahani published videos of people honking in the streets on social media

https://x.com/KhosroIsfahani/status/2027839875500912833

EDIT 10

Donald Trump told NBC News that he feels reports about the death of Khamenei are correct.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-responds-reports-ayatollah-death-rcna261149

EDIT 11

Iran International, the largest Iranian political opposition network, says Ayatollah Khamenei have been killed according to their own sources.

https://x.com/IranIntl_En/status/2027846843061633455

https://www.iranintl.com/fa/liveblog/20260228-Iranwar

EDIT 12

A french far-left politician who was questioned by police about her support for Hamas-Hezbollah just published a burning american flag. She really mad.

EDIT 13

Farnaz Fassihi, an iranian-american journalist, says she spoke on the phone with her sources in Tehran

Many people are celebrating but she says the information is NOT confirmed.

🚨 New York Times claims Trump confirms

EDIT 14

Official statement from the White House.

IT'S OVER FOLKS !!!

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[–] TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world 209 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (14 children)

Anyone celebrating this, you HAVE to understand that the US and Israel did NOT do this because it was what the Iranian people wanted, they did it because it was what THEY want. Whether this will actually be good or bad for the Iranian people makes absolutely no difference to the US and Israel. They don't care about the Iranian people, they don't respect the Iranian people. This was a selfish act on the part of the US and Israel, not a selfless one.

[–] sirscooter@lemmy.zip 45 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I'm hoping the Iranian people can come out of this a better country. But you are totally correct in that the US did this for the oil not the people.

[–] in4apenny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 3 weeks ago

So long as the new governance is approved by Israel and The West. They better not try to democratically elect a leftist or socialist otherwise they're gonna get a Western backed dictator forced on them instead.

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[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 20 points 3 weeks ago

Both can be true and the act does not need to be selfless to be good.

[–] lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.com 19 points 3 weeks ago

I know that Trump did do this for himself.

On the other hand, the Mullah dictatorship murdered Thousand of protesters during the last months, so they can get fcked!!!

[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 18 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Khamenei was a monster. It doesn't matter how or why he's dead. Good riddance, may he burn in hell for an eternity.

It doesn't matter whether a monster is killed by someone with noble intentions or a monster is killed by another monster. Either way there's one less monster in the world.

[–] TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world 37 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

It doesn't matter whether a monster is killed by someone with noble intentions or a monster is killed by another monster.

It does matter. It matters. And it's so, so important that people understand that it matters. This attitude of, "the ends justify the means," is very dangerous. The Iranian nation has had their autonomy taken away from them, first by Khamenei and now by the US and Israel. They are powerless, subject to the whims of people more powerful than them. They don't make their own decisions about their own nation, the decisions are made for them by people who have enough guns and strongmen to impose their will on them.

Edit: think of it like this: let's say you're living down the street from a family with an abusive father. The guy is just cruel to his wife and kids. So one day you decide to take matters into your own hands and you go and shoot the dad dead. That's good, right? The cruel, abusive father is dead, so it's good and justified, right? But you didn't ask the wife or the kids if they wanted their father to be killed. You didn't care what they wanted, because you didn't do it for them. You did it for you. You did it because it was what YOU wanted. And if they get mad at you for it, you say oh they're just ingrates. They don't appreciate what I did for THEM. But, it wasn't for them. It was never for them. It was for you.

Edit 2: so what would the alternative be? What could we do to stop this cruel father that doesn't require us to take matters into our own hands? Law. We need the rule of law. What would any reasonable person in a modern society do in this situation? They'd call the police. That's what we need: the rule of law. Not countries deciding unilaterally who lives and who dies, but laws. Laws that apply to all of us, equally.

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[–] arrow74@lemmy.zip 19 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (9 children)

I'm glad he's dead, but the fear is that this creates an even worse situation.

Attempts to remove a dictator by force are usually not possible without a lengthy occupation. There's no new government or leaders ready to form a new government that is better for the Iranian people. An occupation is also unlikely to have good results. This isn't reforming Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan, this is something else entirely. I would expect the people of Iran to not respond well to aggressors occupying their country. This is at best Afghanistan 2, but likely worse

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[–] raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago

I can't believe there are people dumb enough that this needs to be pointed out, but yes, a thousand times yes. Upvote for visibility.

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[–] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world 183 points 3 weeks ago (13 children)

No love for this dude, but this won't end here.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 69 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Not like we've been here before. Surly there won't be blowback from this.

[–] forwhomthecattolls@sh.itjust.works 29 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

yeah this has never gone wrong ever

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 26 points 3 weeks ago

We just killed the dude that killed the dude we put in power after killing a fourth dude. Fucking circus of circles.

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[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 103 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I'm glad he's dead, I'm sad how it happened. Foreign bombs against a religious and political leader don't make for a stable transition of power, they result in decades of war between rebels in the mountains and whoever controls the cities.

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[–] clot27@lemmy.zip 64 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

If this is true it would make IRGC even more united and furious I hope they kill netanyahu in retaliation

[–] PunnyName@lemmy.world 52 points 3 weeks ago

And Fascist 47 while we're at it.

[–] BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

Everything is still kind of unverified, but it sounds like they may have got a significant portion of the IRGC leadership too.

The popular voice right now seems to be the crown prince of the former Iranian monarchy.

[–] clot27@lemmy.zip 25 points 3 weeks ago

that asshole can go fuck himself

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 18 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Basically because there's no obvious uniting figure, so they go with somebody irrelevant and inoffensive.

The US has opened a huge can of worms they have no interest in actually managing. This is going to be Syria but bigger and in an economically significant area.

[–] EvergreenGuru@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

The issue is this is all western propaganda. We can only judge by Iran’s response, and since they’re making a cohesive military counterattack by bombing US Bases, we can see the country hasn’t lost its leadership.

Trump attacking Iran is not going to go well. I believe Iran will win and the US will have wasted resources. Most importantly, the Iranians have closed the Strait of Hormuz.

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[–] krashmo@lemmy.world 60 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

"The bombings will continue until peace is achieved" is one of the craziest things I've ever heard Trump say, and that is saying a lot

[–] LumberjackRanger@leminal.space 12 points 3 weeks ago

"I'm going going to keep punching you until you stop saying ouch."

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[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 55 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)

Say goodbye to a few trillion $ and any hope of a future for a few generations

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[–] piskertariot@lemmy.world 50 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Including a statement from Pierre Poilievre means that the news doesn't matter.

If you're going to include the opinions of people who can't even win their own seat from countries who are across an ocean from Iran, there are plenty of others who are relevant.

[–] rozodru@piefed.world 36 points 3 weeks ago

the fuck is PP giving statements for? fucker still doesn't have security clearance. He's got about as much knowledge on what's really going on as I do.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 47 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Given the viciousness and the firepower both US and Israel can bring to bare, it's very possible they killed him.

Also possible they're just announcing this to further domestic unrest. If Khamenei doesn't stick his head out to announce he's alive, it will be that much easier to flip generals or city leaders who think they'll need to surrender in order to survive.

Videos in Farsi published on social media show some people cheering in Tehran

"We'll be greeted as liberators"

No shortage of people in Iran who hate the Ayatollah. But it's unlikely you'll find folks under active bombardment feeling in the mood to cheer at any news.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (4 children)

Flip to what, though?

Iran was built to be redundant, and the protest movement is just a protest movement, to date. This isn't going to be a clean transition to a different united regime.

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[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 42 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I'm sure there will be a quick and peaceful transfer of power to a completely democratic leadership and no civilian casualties whatsoever.

[–] Ulvain@sh.itjust.works 20 points 3 weeks ago

..." And the daydreaming ends. And you realize with your dick in your hand that you're in the bottom of an empty well.

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[–] Luriana@sh.itjust.works 41 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

Personal opinion

He was instrumental in helping Bachar El Assad massacre Syrians after the 2011 Arab Spring. The Iranian military saved Bachar by slaughtering countless

He was the daddy of Hezbollah. Hezbollah assasinated countless Lebanese politicians who spoke out against the group. Khamenei urged Hezbollah to trigger two major wars against Israel (2006, 2023). The overwhelming majority of Lebanese DID NOT want these wars. The response was absolutely devastating for ordinary lebanese. Khamenei was laughing from Tehran while Lebanese paid the price.

He was an enemy of the Ukrainian people. At the beginning of the Ukraine invasion, he gave thousands of drones to Vladimir Poutine. Drones are used to bomb Ukrainian cities

And perhaps the most sadly, he was an enemy of the Iranian people. His men slaughtered countless Iranian protesters. As for the survivors, they were tortured and raped.

https://theconversation.com/how-irans-government-has-weaponized-sexual-violence-against-women-who-dare-to-resist-253791

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/7480/2023/en/

That dude was just evil. If anyone had it coming, it was him.

Let's hope that this bloody war ends now.

[–] PlaidBaron@lemmy.world 62 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

"Lets hope this bloody war ends now."

Hahahahahahah. No chance.

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[–] infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net 30 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (7 children)

OK now who are we installing next to come back and murder in 2050?

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[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 23 points 3 weeks ago

"one of the most evil people in history is dead" says the pedophile president.

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 21 points 3 weeks ago

If only countries targeted only the politicians and avoided killing civillians.

[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 18 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Good outcome, still illegal as fuck.

[–] BlackAura@lemmy.world 21 points 3 weeks ago

The funny thing I've been reading / seeing is that the paralympics are still ongoing.

The Olympic truce says no one will start a war during the 7 days before the Olympics and for 7 days after the Paralympics finish.

The US and Israel should be banned by the IOC from competing at the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games (even though the host country is the US).

It won't happen though.

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[–] ieGod@lemmy.zip 17 points 3 weeks ago

Can't wait until trump is eliminated.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 16 points 3 weeks ago

Nice. Every time a dictator dies I celebrate - simple.

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 3 weeks ago

Won't believe until corroborated by both sides.

[–] breakfastmtn@piefed.ca 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Iran confirms:

Iranian state media announced early on Sunday that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed. “To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return,” the news agency said. He died after U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran on Saturday.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02/28/world/iran-strikes-trump/02e753fe-8b30-5272-b383-56b1659d6491

Edit: Also a whole bunch of his family.

The deaths of the daughter, son-in-law and grandson of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, were confirmed, according to Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency on Sunday morning in Iran. One of his daughters-in-law was also killed, the news agency said.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02/28/world/iran-strikes-trump/18b01a1c-c503-57bf-9436-38ffeaa15889

[–] mrl1@jlai.lu 12 points 3 weeks ago

Why is OP mentioning Rima Hassan though? French left has been criticizing every international interference illegal in regards to NATO directives.

[–] Hubi@feddit.org 9 points 3 weeks ago

Too bad, I'm sure Assad was looking forward to meeting his new roommate.

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