Abbas Araghchi said a joint US-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the war’s first day and buried him under rubble at a leadership compound in Tehran.
Three blasts hit within seconds as senior officials were meeting, Araghchi said, showing Washington and Israel had precise intelligence on Khamenei’s location and other leadership gatherings.
Araghchi said Iran had already prepared “Code 110” plans to close the Strait of Hormuz if the supreme leader was targeted, while warning neighboring states that US bases and regional oil exports could be hit in retaliation.
He said Tehran had offered Washington a nuclear deal in Geneva, but Oman told Iran the next day the mood in Washington had turned more bellicose before strikes began shortly after 9 a.m.
Mojtaba Khamenei has since been installed as leader, and Araghchi said that succession was meant to signal no change in the regime’s policies despite the decapitation strike.
With Iran’s new leader wounded and unseen, who is truly directing its escalating conflict with the US?
Did the strike meant to collapse Iran's regime instead create a more aggressive state controlling global energy?
Now that Khamenei's fatwa is gone, is Iran secretly racing to build a nuclear bomb amid the chaos?
Operation Epic Fury: The 2026 US-Israeli Strike on Iran and Its Global Fallout
Overview
On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel launched a coordinated military operation against Iran, starting with a massive cyberattack that plunged the country into darkness and triggered immediate regional escalation. As explosions rocked Tehran and panic spread, Iranian authorities ordered evacuations. The assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the initial strikes deeply destabilized Iran’s government and security forces. The operation targeted key infrastructure, including missile production sites, while Iran retaliated with waves of ballistic missiles against Israel. These events marked a turning point, exposing Iran’s vulnerabilities and intensifying conflict across the region.