U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday (February 28, 2026) that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead, after Israel and the United States launched an attack of unprecedented scale aimed at bringing down the Islamic republic. Cheers could be heard on Tehran's streets after reports of the death of Mr. Khamenei, Iran's paramount leader since 1989, as plumes of black smoke hovered over the Pasteur district where he usually resides, witnesses told AFP. "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead," Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social network. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said there were "many signs that this tyrant is no longer alive". Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier told NBC News that Mr. Khamenei was alive "as far as I know", adding that "all high-ranking officials are alive".

Source: The Hindu March 01, 2026 03:48 UTC