Report: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Killed in US-Israeli Attack

AP, PTI, March 01, 2026, Dubai: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.

Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old's death early Sunday. US President Donald Trump had announced his death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.

The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” was to continue through the week or as long as necessary.

The strikes opened a stunning new chapter in US intervention in Iran, marking the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the country during talks over its nuclear programme. The killing of Khamenei after decades in power appeared certain to create a significant leadership vacuum, given the absence of a known successor and because the supreme leader had final say on all major policies.

On Sunday, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever, targeting Israel and US bases.

Here is the latest:

Airport authorities in Indonesia's resort island of Bali said more than 1,600 tourists were stranded at Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Sunday after several flights to the Middle East were cancelled or postponed due to airspace closures in a number of countries.

Five flights to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha operated by Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways were affected, involving 1,631 passengers, according to state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia.

The airport said overall operations remained normal and passengers were being handled under airline policies while authorities coordinated with airlines and air navigation officials.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for “de-escalation and prioritising diplomacy” to avert “comprehensive chaos” in the region.

“There is no alternative to dialogue to address the current crises,” he said.

Abdelatty's comment came in a phone call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

The US Embassy in Jordan urged Americans in the Kingdom to remain indoors as Iran continued its attacks across the Gulf Arab states and Israel.

The embassy made the warning Sunday morning in a post on X, citing reports of “missiles, drones, or rockets are in Jordanian airspace.”

Protesters have taken to the streets in the Iraqi capital early Sunday to denounce the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Associated Press journalists saw dozens of people attempting to cross a bridge leading to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses Iraqi government buildings and the sprawling US Embassy.

Gunshots were heard, and smoke was seen rising in the area, according to AP footage.

Qatar's Interior Ministry said eight people were wounded early Sunday in Iranian attacks on the country, raising the total number of those wounded since strikes began the day before to 16.

The ministry said attacks also caused “limited” material damage.

It urged people in Qatar to stay home and only go out in case of emergency, and keep roads open for ambulances.

Ebrahim Taheri, a Minab prosecutor, told the Iranian judiciary's Mizan News Agency that the death toll from Saturday's U.S. and Israeli strike on a girls' school in southern Iran's Minab county has risen to 148 killed and 95 wounded.

President Javier Milei praised the joint operation carried out by the United States and Israel that resulted in the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom he described as “one of the most evil, violent, and cruel individuals in modern history.”

In his statement, Milei also recalled the 1994 attack on the Argentine Jewish community centre, known as AMIA, in Buenos Aires. The bombing killed 85 people and injured hundreds, marking one of the deadliest attacks in the country's history.

The president reaffirmed that pursuing justice for the victims of the AMIA bombing remains a state policy. “We will continue until the last person responsible pays with his freedom or his life for this horrific crime,” Milei said.

A Chinese organisation is registering Chinese citizens in Iran for evacuation to neighbouring countries, according to a media report.

More than 200 Chinese are scattered across Iran, Tan Kai, the president of the Iran Federation of Chinese Organizations, told the Global Times newspaper. The group is making evacuation preparations at the instruction of the Chinese Embassy, Tan said.

An embassy statement said the land borders with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey were open for individuals wishing to depart on their own.

In Israel, the Chinese embassy advised citizens to move to safe areas away from the centres of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem and airports, power stations and similar sites. It said it would begin registering citizens on Sunday who wish to evacuate to Egypt and cannot do so on their own.

A council has formed to govern Iran after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

That council is enshrined in law in the Islamic Republic. It is made up of Iran's sitting president, the head of the country's judiciary and a member of the Guardian Council chosen by Iran's Expediency Council, which advises the supreme leader and settles disputes with parliament.

Iran's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei are on it.

Iranian law says the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible,” pick a new supreme leader. (AP)