As I warned earlier on this same topic, it’s usually best to take first reports with a grain of salt. You can date them for fun, but don’t marry them until you meet their mothers.
Did Benjamin Netanyahu get married this afternoon? In his televised speech to the nation after the start of Operation Epic Fury, he may not have entirely married reports that the first strike took out Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. However, Netanyahu may have put a ring on its finger:
BREAKING
In a new statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it is highly likely that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, is no longer alive.
If events follow historical precedent — as they did with Khomeini in 1989 and Raisi in… pic.twitter.com/MeDiGyGOcP
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 28, 2026
If events follow historical precedent — as they did with Khomeini in 1989 and Raisi in 2024 — the regime would likely wait until tomorrow morning to issue any formal confirmation, typically during state broadcast hours and often accompanied by Qur’an recitation and mourning programming before or alongside the announcement.
It’s 10:43 PM in Tehran.
The Iranians would have to announce something fairly soon for another reason. Islamic practice requires burial within 24 hours of death (as does Jewish practice). That practice may be flexible in other parts of the world, but it wouldn’t be flexible in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and especially not for its highest-ranking cleric as well as its head of state. A failure to adhere to that rule would be massively disrespectful under the circumstances.
Up to this moment, though, the Israeli media seemed reluctant to go past second base with these rumors and claims. The Times of Israel had reported on the earlier intel assessments but had refrained from discussing them even in a speculative fashion. The ToI has now reported Netanyahu’s claim, but notes his cautious construction:
The signs are growing that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “is no more,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a video statement to the Israeli public.
He says that this morning Israel eliminated IRGC commanders, senior Iranian regime officials, senior nuclear officials, and that in the coming days, “we will hit thousands of targets of the terror regime.”
He says that Israel will create the conditions for the Iranian people to “free itself from the chains of dictatorship.”
The operation against Iran “will continue as long as is necessary,” says Netanyahu, “and stamina is necessary.”
The Jerusalem Post remains as cautious as it was earlier this morning. It also picked up on Netanyahu’s claims, but put them in the context of the reason to make them at this particular moment. Netanyahu directed those comments to the Iranian people, emphasizing that their moment to rise up is almost at hand, now that the US and Israel are decapitating the tyrannical regime that has trapped them for 47 years:
“There are growing indications that [Khamenei] is no longer,” Netanyahu added, without providing additional details.
Addressing the Iranian public directly, Netanyahu said there would be a moment when citizens would be required to take to the streets, urging them not to miss what he described as a historic opportunity.
“Your suffering will not be for nothing,” he said. “Help has arrived. Now it is time to unite for this historical purpose. The residents of Iran must unite to topple their government and secure their future.”
Netanyahu stressed that the campaign would continue for as long as necessary.
That appears to mean that Israel intends to keep striking IRGC and regime targets until the people pull the mullahs down. Neither the US nor Israel will put boots on the ground for that purpose, but we have enough assets to continue these strikes for long enough to exhaust a regime that was already running on fumes.
That would be easier to do if Khamenei gets killed. According to another report, at least one Israeli official is telling media there that they have confirmed his death. If so, that sets off a leadership fight within and between the mullahs and the IRGC, or what’s left of either, just at the time when they face the biggest existential threat to the theocratic regime. That alone may end up collapsing the entire rotten and corrupt structure. Inshallah.
Update: Israeli officials are claiming that they have proof that Khamenei died in the airstrike, with some saying his body has been discovered:
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike Saturday as part of a massive joint military operation between the U.S. and Israel, Israel’s ambassador to Washington told U.S. officials.
An Israeli official confirmed to Axios that Khamenei is dead, according to Israeli intelligence.
The claim that the body has been found was supposedly made to Reuters, but they deny hearing it … so far.
What happens next? Axios lays out the normal process for replacing the Supreme Leader, which now has a snag or two:
Under Iran’s constitution, a council of clerics is meant to select a new supreme leader — but Israel’s strikes also targeted senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders and political leaders, leaving the regime’s chain of command in disarray.
Israeli officials say they assess the Iranian minister of defense and the commander of the IRGC were also among those killed in targeted strikes on Saturday.
Good luck with that. Stay tuned for further developments. Meanwhile, the list of replacements grows ever thinner …
A council member says U.S.–Israeli strikes killed both the son and daughter-in-law of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The whereabouts of Khamenei remain unclear, and the Iranian regime is reportedly enraged. pic.twitter.com/GzZn6pNbWw
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 28, 2026
Update: The Times of Israel reports that both Trump and Netanyahu were shown photos of Khamenei’s body:
Channel 12 news reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump were shown an image of the body of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, after it was recovered by Iranian authorities from his compound in Tehran.
Khamenei aide Ali Larijani provided some indirect corroboration shortly afterward:
After Channel 12 reported that he was among the top Iranian officials targeted in US and Israeli strikes, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s top aide Ali Larijani publishes a statement on his X account vowing revenge.
An Israeli official said tonight that Khamenei was killed in Israel’s initial strikes this morning, and Netanyahu is reported to have been shown a photograph of Khamenei’s body retrieved from his compound.
“We will make the Zionist criminals and the shameless Americans regret their actions. The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,” Larijani tweets.
That may be related to Operation Epic Fury and not Khamenei, but … the timing is interesting. Stay tuned.
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