Did Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, survive the first day of the war? This question has kept half the world excited since the afternoon. Since then, information has circulated that the ayatollah may have lost his life in the beheading strikes that began in the morning. Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were increasing signs of Khamenei’s death, but this was denied by Iranian officials at the time. After that, however, US President Donald Trump also announced the death of the Ayatollah, whom he called one of the most evil people in history.
Israel and the United States carried out joint airstrikes against Iran on Saturday morning, opening a new chapter in the conflict between the countries. Iran responded to the attack with missiles and drones, which targeted not only Israel, but the American military bases in the region and the infrastructure of the countries in the region.
The American-Israeli action did not come out of nowhere. Trump has repeatedly warned Iran that in the absence of a nuclear deal, he may use military means, and accordingly the US military has sent huge forces to the region in recent weeks.
Unlike usual, the attack began during the day. First, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced the pre-emptive strikes against Iran, which he justified by eliminating threats to the country. Trump then said in an eight-minute video that the United States had launched large-scale combat operations and called on the Iranians to topple the regime once the fighting is over, saying they will not have another chance.
You can read the events of Saturday here minute by minute.
A blow to the regime
For the time being, little concrete information is known about the exact identity of the targets of the strikes. The Israelis confirmed that political leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were among the targets. According to some sources, they also targeted Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the Iranian leader and his potential successor, President Masoud Peszekján, as well as several members of the top military leadership. These were believed to be Israeli strikes, while the Americans, according to their own admission, attacked military installations, air defense units and missile launcher sites.
Explosions were heard in the country’s major cities, Kom, Isfahan and Siraz. They fired several waves at Tehran, the country’s capital, and targeted logistics and military centers across the country, such as Minab and Sahand, as well as the key Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf.
Although it is not yet possible to determine with full confidence how successful these attacks were, there are indications that the Iranians suffered serious losses. Citing Iranian sources, the Reuters news agency wrote that among others, Defense Minister Amir Nassirzadeh and Mohammed Pakpur, commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, were killed.
The Times of Israel, citing an Israeli TV channel, claimed that the Israelis targeted a total of 30 leaders, and that 30 bombs were thrown at Khamenei’s residence. The TV report, which did not cite sources, added that one of Khamenei’s sons-in-law and a daughter may have been killed in the attack, and it was already believed likely that the supreme leader and his son were also killed. Satellite images prove that the palace was heavily hit,
And Netanyahu said on Saturday evening that there are more and more signs of Khamenei’s death, and later Trump announced the liquidation of the Iranian leader.
Iranian sources deny the information for the time being. In the afternoon, Foreign Minister Aragcsi Abbass said in a live statement to NBC News that “as far as he knows”, the Ayatollah is alive, while in the evening Foreign Ministry spokesman Eszmail Baghaeit said that Khamenei is safe and sound. Meanwhile, in some parts of Tehran, the unconfirmed news of Khamenei’s death was already celebrated with riots.
According to the first analyses, the decapitating blows could have taken place in the first minutes of the attack, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the Iranian defense. Nevertheless, the Iranians responded more quickly than during last summer’s 12-day war. On Saturday, rockets were fired at Israel barely two hours after the first strikes, while in June 2025 it took about 18 hours.
There is no exact data on how many missiles Iran has fired up to and including Saturday evening. Several sources assume a hundred drones and about 170 rockets against Israel alone, which would mean the same magnitude as in June. However, the extent of the destruction is much smaller in Israel, where apart from one seriously injured, no major injuries were reported.
The reason for this could be, on the one hand, that the Iranians are now firing at several places, for example at the American bases in the region, and also that, with American support, they are taking down the missile launch stations more effectively. According to some analysts, however, the reason may also be that the regime wants to reserve its power in the event of a protracted conflict.
Wrath and Leo
According to information from several newspapers, long preparations preceded the operation called Epic Fury on the American side and Roaring Lion on the Israeli side. The political purpose of the attacks is not completely clear, although for now all signs point to the destruction of Iran’s military and nuclear potential, as well as the overthrow of the Islamist regime.
Both Israeli and American sources have confirmed that they expect a long, multi-day operation. On the other hand, some think that in the event of Khamenei’s death, events may accelerate if the Iranian people revolt and overthrow the regime. However, several people warned in advance that even in the case of the death of the supreme leader, it is not guaranteed that the regime will fall, especially without ground invasion troops.
According to some information, several government buildings in Tehran were targeted at the same time in the first wave of strikes. Other targets included the Iranian judiciary, the Revolutionary Guard, the secret service, and the country’s nuclear energy agency. The total number of targets suggested to many that it was a classic decapitation blow.
US President Donald Trump and other members of the government follow the developments of the US operation on February 28, 2026 – Photo: The White House / AFP
After the first strikes, Israeli officials announced that America and Israel would attack Iran’s offensive capabilities, especially its ballistic missiles, with all available forces in the next 48 hours. Accordingly, on Saturday afternoon, the Israeli Air Force carried out the largest attack in the country’s history, deploying around 200 planes. According to the army, they mainly attacked rocket-launching facilities, which posed a threat to Israel’s security.
It is not easy to determine what combat equipment was deployed during the attack. According to several reports, the Israeli Air Force was joined by hundreds of American planes and naval capabilities on the ground. An American aircraft carrier and its fleet have been in the area for weeks, and a second one arrived near Israel on Friday. The United States’ Central Command (CENTCOM), which includes the Middle East region, reported that America and its allies successfully defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks following the first attack. According to the British, they also took part in the defense.
CENTCOM is not aware of any US casualties or injuries, and damage to US facilities was so minimal that it did not affect operations.
They added that in the first hours of the attack, precision weapons were deployed from the air, land and water. In addition, CENTCOM’s Scorpion Strike, a special unit, was the first to employ unidirectional attack drones in combat.
The region was engulfed in flames
A big difference compared to the June conflict is that the Iranian counterattack was much broader. There is footage of an Iranian drone crashing into a facility at the US Naval Base in Bahrain, and there are also reports that a radar at the US Air Force Base in Qatar has been targeted. There were also reports of an attack on the US base in Erbil, Iraq, and Jordanian authorities said they had shot down several rockets headed for the country.
However, Iran attacked not only American interests, but also the civil infrastructure of regional countries allied with America. Several videos show, for example, how a building on the world-famous Palm Island in Dubai is on fire, and the Ministry of Defense of the Emirates later announced that it neutralized 132 of the 137 ballistic missiles launched towards the country, and 195 of the 209 drones. They added that the remaining five missiles fell into the sea, while the 14 uncaptured drones caused minor infrastructural damage. Later, it was also announced that a terminal at the Dubai airport had also been hit, and four workers were injured.
The Kuwaiti airport was most likely attacked by drones, at least that is what the pictures taken after the hit suggest. Another central power in the region, Saudi Arabia, announced that it reserves the right to retaliate after Riyadh and its facilities in the eastern part of the country (presumably oil interests) were also attacked by Iran.
According to most analysts, attacks on neighboring countries mean that Iran sees the attack as an existential threat. Accordingly, it wants to inflict the greatest possible damage on the rich Gulf countries, which are more vulnerable to Iranian missiles and drones than Israel. The ultimate goal could be for these countries to persuade America to stop the strikes. However, others see that things can backfire and even join the fight.
There is also the question of whether Iran will make good on its threats and whether it will really close the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil trade passes. Such a move could have very serious consequences for the world’s oil supply and the price of oil. The EU shipping mission reported on Saturday evening that passage is no longer allowed, but this has not yet been officially confirmed by Iran.
It has also not been decided whether Iran’s regional proxies, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, or Iraq’s Shiite militias will enter the conflict. The 20 have already announced that they stand by Iran, will resume attacks on shipping, and some Iraqi militias have also called on their members to fight. However, Hezbollah, which poses a much greater threat, is waiting for now, according to some, because they are afraid of complete destruction after last year’s war with Israel, which claimed heavy casualties.
