Supreme Leader Khamenei Killed; Death Toll Passes 1,300 as Conflict Enters Seventh Day
How the War Began :
The assault began on Saturday, February 28, 2026, when American and Israeli forces launched simultaneous strikes on dozens of targets across Iran. The opening salvo targeted the Leadership House compound in Tehran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei the most dramatic single event of the conflict. His wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, was confirmed dead two days later from injuries sustained in the same strike.
The attacks followed the collapse of indirect nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in early February 2026, and built on earlier Israeli strikes during the so-called Twelve-Day War of June 2025, in which American aircraft struck Iranian nuclear facilities. This time, however, the scale of the assault was far greater aimed, according to U.S. officials, at regime change.
Seven Days of Bombardment :
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported striking approximately 200 targets in Iran in just the 72 hours leading up to Friday, including ballistic missile launchers, naval vessels, and military command facilities. In total, some 2,000 strikes had been carried out by March 1 alone. By Friday morning, U.S. B-2 stealth bombers had dropped dozens of "penetrator" bombs on deeply buried ballistic missile sites, and Israel announced a "new phase" in operations targeting what it called "regime infrastructure."
Casualties have been staggering. Iran's Red Crescent reported at least 1,332 dead, including more than 181 children. UNICEF confirmed the toll on young lives after an airstrike on an elementary school in Tehran's Niloufar Square made international headlines. Earlier in the conflict, a strike on a school in the southern city of Minab killed at least 165 schoolgirls and staff an incident the UN has demanded answers on.
An Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground in Tehran reported that the seventh day brought the heaviest bombardment yet, with the shockwaves of explosions felt even inside the network's bureau. Thick smoke rose from multiple neighborhoods, including areas near Tehran University. Attacks also struck the cities of Shiraz, Qom, Isfahan, and Kermanshah.
Iran Strikes Back :
Iran has not stood idle. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has launched attacks against at least 27 U.S. military bases in the Middle East, in addition to Israeli military facilities. Iran fired fresh missiles toward Israel on Friday, responding to the overnight Israeli strikes on Tehran and Beirut. Israel's air defense systems were reported to be actively intercepting the incoming projectiles.
Iran has also threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical oil shipping lanes, through which roughly 20 percent of global petroleum trade passes. Meanwhile, an Iranian warship the IRIS Dena frigate was sunk by a U.S. submarine in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka, marking the first warship sunk in combat by an American submarine since World War II. Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 survivors and recovered 87 bodies.
Iranian drones and missiles have struck Gulf states hosting U.S. forces, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, where Iran targeted the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Bahrain's international airport also sustained drone damage. At least nine civilians across Gulf nations have been killed. Lebanon has once again been drawn into the conflict, with Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's Hezbollah-linked Dahiyeh district displacing over 95,000 people.
Iran's Leadership in Flux :
With Khamenei dead, Iran faces a profound leadership crisis. Mojtaba Khamenei, the late Supreme Leader's son, has emerged as a leading candidate among regime insiders, having spent years cultivating influence within the establishment and building ties with the IRGC. However, U.S. President Donald Trump explicitly rejected this prospect on Thursday, declaring Mojtaba an "unacceptable" choice and stating his intention to play a direct role in selecting Iran's next leader.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flatly rejected negotiations, stating there was "no reason" to talk with the United States and that Washington could not be trusted. Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani warned that Iranian forces were "waiting" for a potential American ground invasion and threatened the capture and killing of thousands of U.S. troops.
Washington Divided - But War Proceeds :
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted 219 to 212 on Thursday against a measure that would have halted the war and required congressional authorization for hostilities against Iran. President Trump told reporters that Iran was being "demolished" and predicted the war would last four to five weeks. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the bombardment was "about to surge dramatically."
The financial cost has already been enormous. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury cost $3.7 billion roughly $891 million per day with $3.5 billion of that not yet budgeted by Congress.
A Region on the Edge :
The conflict has rapidly drawn in neighboring states. Iran attacked Azerbaijan the first such strikes on the country since the war began prompting condemnation from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and from Turkey. Iran also struck a British RAF base in Cyprus. Reports indicate that U.S. officials have asked Iraqi Kurdish forces to assist in cross-border military operations, and Kurdish armed groups in northwest Iran have reportedly launched a ground offensive against the Iranian government.
Calls for mediation have come from regional powers. Sheikh Mohammed of the UAE demanded an "immediate halt" to the strikes. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said any mediation must be directed at the United States and Israel, asserting that Iran is "committed to lasting peace" but will defend its sovereignty. The United Nations refugee agency reported that roughly 100,000 people had fled Tehran in the first two days of attacks alone.
As the seventh day of the conflict closes, there are few signs of a diplomatic off-ramp. Iran's military capacity particularly its air force, air defenses, and missile arsenal has been severely degraded according to U.S. claims, though independent verification remains limited. What is certain is that a regional order decades in the making is being remade in real time and the outcome remains deeply uncertain.
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