Iran’s Supreme Leader Killed in US-Israeli Attacks as War Widens

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(Bloomberg) — Iran’s supreme leader was killed in US–Israeli airstrikes, a seismic development in a conflict that’s spread to half a dozen countries across the Middle East and threatens to disrupt energy flows.

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President Donald Trump said in a social post that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “one of the most evil people in history, is dead.” Iran confirmed the news hours later, saying the government will observe 40 days of national mourning for the 86-year-old ruler, who was killed in his office compound.

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“Heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary,” Trump said.  

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On Sunday morning, signs were abundant that the war that began a day earlier with US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic was spreading. Sirens sounded as far as Tel Aviv, missile defenses intercepted incoming Iranian projectiles in Qatar and Bahrain, and there were reports of attacks on Dubai’s main airport, the world’s busiest aviation hub. The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf to the open sea, was described by Iran’s Tasnim news agency as being practically shut, with oil and gas tankers increasingly avoiding the waterway.

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Killing the ruler who dominated the Islamic Republic for more than three decades took the US-Israeli campaign to quash Iran’s regional power to a new level, with Tehran retaliating with the heaviest missile strikes on US allies ever.

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Khamenei’s death raises the question of who will rule Iran next, as he had not publicly designated a successor. The Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting the supreme leader, is required to appoint a new leader. In the interim, a council comprising the president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council assumes the leader’s duties.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Iranians to try to overthrow their government, following a similar call made by Trump shortly after the attacks on Iran began.

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The military campaign could be a defining moment for the US president, risking a drawn-out regional war that leads to a surge in energy prices and American casualties ahead of midterm elections in November. Iran has retaliated by firing missiles on Israel, US military bases and Persian Gulf countries, forcing a closure of nearly all civilian air traffic across the region.

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The US and Israel started the assault on Saturday with the aim of “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in a video posted on his Truth Social platform. “When we’re finished, take over your government,” he added, addressing Iranians directly. “It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

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Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain — all of which host US troops — reported Iranian attacks, most of which they seemed to repel. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted Iranian missiles over its capital, Riyadh, and the eastern region, where most of the kingdom’s oil fields are located.