Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was reported killed following a coordinated American-Israeli operation, Iran’s state media said, after a large wave of airstrikes early Saturday. The Iranian government declared 40 days of mourning.
Israeli officials said senior Iranian security figures were among the dead, including the defense minister, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council; Iranian state media has confirmed those deaths. A person briefed on the operation told NPR that Khamenei was struck and later said he had been killed by an Israeli strike; that source spoke on background because they were not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.
Former President Donald Trump, on Truth Social, credited Israel and U.S. support for Khamenei’s death and warned Iran against retaliation: “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!” In an eight-minute video posted Saturday, Trump said the U.S. goal was to protect Americans by eliminating “imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” urged Iranians to take shelter during the strikes and then, he said, to “take over your government” once bombing stopped.
The initial U.S. and Israeli air campaign — called “Epic Fury” by the Pentagon and “Roaring Lion” by Israel — began at sunrise, producing explosions and large plumes of smoke over Tehran. Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced the attacks as a “gross violation” of its sovereignty and said both military and civilian sites were hit. The Iranian Red Crescent reported more than 200 people killed in strikes across the country. Iranian authorities said one strike hit a girls’ primary school in southern Iran, killing at least 85 children with more believed buried under rubble; NPR is seeking comment from Israeli officials about that report.
A U.S. Central Command spokesperson, Capt. Tim Hawkins, told NPR the U.S. was aware of reports of civilian harm and was investigating, saying protection of civilians is paramount and that, unlike Iran, the U.S. “will never — target civilians.” Iran replied with missile and drone launches that spread the conflict across the region. Air raid sirens sounded in Israel as missiles targeted Tel Aviv and Jerusalem; Israeli rescue services reported one person killed and 121 injured in the first 24 hours.
Several Gulf states reported Iranian strikes or interceptions. Jordan said it downed 49 drones and ballistic missiles. In Dubai, smoke rose from the airport and port, and debris from intercepted drones caused injuries in a residential area. Bahrain reported an Iranian strike hit the U.S. naval base that hosts the Fifth Fleet; the UAE said it intercepted missiles and that shrapnel from one strike killed a foreign national in Abu Dhabi.
Israeli forces said they carried out the largest air operation in their history, using roughly 200 fighter jets to strike about 500 targets in western and central Iran, including air defenses and missile launchers. An Israeli official said U.S. and Israeli planners spent months building a target bank and struck three separate gatherings of senior Iranian officials simultaneously. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aim was to remove what he described as an existential threat and to create conditions for the Iranian people to decide their future.
The strikes followed weeks of escalating tensions and a major U.S. military buildup in the region. U.S. officials had been negotiating limits on Iran’s nuclear program; nuclear experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said there is no evidence Iran had resumed uranium enrichment, though Trump has asserted otherwise. Analysts say toppling Iran’s government with air power alone would be extremely difficult, and there were no signs the U.S. planned to deploy ground forces.
Iranian officials and lawmakers condemned the attacks. The speaker of Iran’s parliament called U.S. and Israeli leaders “filthy criminals” who will face “devastating blows.” Security forces moved through neighborhoods as communications were cut and residents described panic. Earlier domestic unrest and harsh crackdowns were cited: a U.S.-based rights news agency said more than 7,000 people were killed during that crackdown, while Trump cited an unverified figure of 32,000.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned both the strikes and Iran’s retaliatory actions, warning of a grave threat to international peace and security and urging a return to dialogue. Israel closed its airspace, activated civil defense measures and declared a 48-hour national emergency; hospitals shifted operations into fortified facilities. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president had spoken with leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as regional militaries remained on high alert while the situation evolved.