Consider This from NPR - Iranian supreme leader killed in airstrike, Trump says

Episode Date: February 28, 2026

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khemenei is dead, according President Donald Trump. This comes after US and Israeli forces bombarded targets across Iran. Iran has retaliated, launching attacks throughout the Middle East.Given these historic events, we’re dropping our National Security Podcast “Sources & Methods” into the feed today.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [e-mail] episode was produced by Erika Ryan, Karen Zamora, and Kai McNamee, with audio engineering by Neil Tevault. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Andrew Sussman. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump says Iran's supreme leader Ali Homanie is dead. This comes after U.S. and Israeli forces bombarded targets across Iran. Iran has retaliated with attacks throughout the Middle East. And given these historic events, we're dropping our national security podcast sources and methods in the feed today. From NPR, I'm Mary Louise Kelly. This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive and up to 40 currencies with only

a few simple taps. Be smart. Get Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit wise.com. T's and C's Apply. This message comes from the BBC with their podcast, The Global Story. With Osma Khalid in D.C. And Tristan Redmond in London,

the global story brings you daily news from where the world and America meet. Search for the global story from BBC podcasts. NPR News Now is your podcast source for updates every hour on the U.S. military action in Iran. President Trump calls it a war and says the goal is regime change. He also says U.S. casualties are possible. With news changing rapidly, listen to NPR News Now. New episodes at the top of every hour on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Ayatollah Ali Hamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader since 19. 1989 is dead, killed today by Israeli strikes. President Trump confirmed the death in a statement posted to truth social. No confirmation, at least of this hour, from Iran. Hamanese death would mark the biggest development today on a day when the headlines have just kept coming. Here's how President Trump shared the news of air strikes from Mar-a-Lago. A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations. Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating eminent threats from the Iranian

regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. So as you heard, there, strikes today by both Israel and the U.S. as the day unfolded Iran hit back lobbying missiles at Israel, also at Saudi Arabia, also at Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, a whole list of countries that host U.S. troops. NPR reporters have been working the phones all day today, trying to confirm what we know and what we don't. Among them, our national security correspondent, Greg, Mirey, in the studio with me here in Washington. Hey, Greg. Hi, Mary Louise. And Daniel Estrin, who was woken up today by air raid sirens in Tel Aviv. Hey, Daniel. Hi, there. Hey, so Daniel, kick us off. The first reports, the first confirmation of Hamanese death came from a source,

briefed on the strike and who talked to you. Would you just walk us through the TikTok today of trying to confirm this really stunning news? Well, what we know is that the opening attack that Israel carried out this morning, along with the U.S., included this surprise blitz targeting senior Iranian defense officials and Israeli military official briefed reporters and said that the U.S. and Israel had been looking for the right operation. opportunity and found it. Three different gatherings simultaneously are what Israel struck this morning. And initial reports that I was hearing from a person briefed was that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khomeinay, was killed, or that was hit along with Iran's president. So we were trying to chase that news all day. And by the evening, Israel confirmed a whole host. host of top officials killed, including Ali Shahmani, the personal advisor of the Supreme

Leader, also the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran's defense minister, a senior intelligence officer, other people tied to Iran's nuclear weapons program, and it was only late at night when the news finally came from President Trump. Wait at night where you are there in Israel. You mentioned Iran's president, Masoud Peshashki, and that he was also targeted. Just briefly, do we have any update on the president's status? No update on his status at all. And yeah, I mean, we're going to have to see when all the dust settles who was killed and who survived. And that's going to say a lot about what will happen next. Greg, the timing and details of this operation. We were learning about it.

It was unfolding here in the U.S. in the wee hours in the dark. In Iran, it was daylight. It was a weekday. Yeah. I mean, I think that's the real distinctive thing here. And they're always looking at the Israelis when they do this, always looking for a way to catch people off guard. And it seems that Saturday is the first day of the work week in Iran. So in effect, it was a Monday morning there. And so instead of doing this at night like they might normally do, they did it on the equivalent of a Monday morning. There's a crisis going on in Iran. You might expect them to meet and perhaps they got lucky that they were all having these separate sets of meetings when they attacked. And Daniel knows this better than

I, but we've both been in Israel when the Israelis have carried out air strikes in a place like Gaza, and it might take days, weeks even, before they can actually confirm the death of certain individuals that they're targeting. So the fact that they've been able, apparently in the Israeli minds, to think they have a positive confirmation that the Supreme Leader and other senior leaders have been killed is quite extraordinary as well to know that they were successful this quickly. Succession? What happens now? Who's next? We don't know. And, you know, if this were normal times, Iran has a council of, sorry, an assembly of experts. A little bit like the Catholic Church. When the Pope dies, the College of Cardinals selects a new one.

Well, Iran has an assembly of experts. 88 Islamic jurists. If the Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah dies, then they select another one. Well, obviously not a normal time. That's only happened once before. anyway, 37 years ago. Right. Only been to Supreme Leaders. Exactly. But that would be the normal process. We're in the middle of a conflict now. It may fall quickly to the security forces and the Revolutionary Guards. That's what we're hearing. In fact, Reuters had a report that the CIA did a recent assessment and wasn't really sure what was going to happen, but their best guess or their best thinking was the Revolutionary Guards or some elements of it would take over.

Quickly from each of you, do we know where we are in this operation? President Trump today suggested that Americans should be braced for casualties. He said this type of thing happens in a war, but we're not hearing anything about American ground troops, Greg. That's true because the U.S. does have a small number of ground troops that are permanently at bases in the region, but they have not all clustered together. They're not near the Iranian border. And even if you add them all up, it's not nearly the size of a force. force you would need. In fact, doing the math, some of the previous wars, it's maybe 10 or 20 percent of the ground troops the U.S. had in Iraq previously. Got it. Those wars. Ground war seems very,

very unlikely, just isn't on the table given the resources that are there right now. Daniel, what are Israeli officials saying? Has Prime Minister Netanyahu given any sense of how far along in this operation he thinks things are? Well, all they're saying is that it's going to take as long as necessary. And the Israelis have announced that already today, they carried out the largest aerial operation, the largest Air Force operation in Israeli history with around 200 fighter jets. So a real blitz at the very beginning. A person briefed on this operation has told me that we're expecting another couple of days of intense strikes in Iran and retaliatory strikes in Israel as well. So we're looking at Sunday and Monday at least, and it could go on for many more days.

So President Trump, when he spoke to Americans today, he was facing cameras, he was in Mara Lago. He was addressing Americans about an American military action. He also had a message for Iran. To the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don't leave your home. It's very dangerous. outside bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations. Greg, Marie, how should we understand this? The President of the United States calling on the people of Iran rise up. Sounds like regime change. And that really just jumped out at me when I first listened to this,

because this is the first time Trump really revealed what he wants. He'd be. He'd been very vague and fuzzy about that. Also, it goes against what he's been saying for a decade that he doesn't want to get the U.S. involved in open-ended forever wars. And in the Middle East, the two previous wars were Iran to the west, Iraq and Afghanistan. He's picked the country right between them to launch another major military operation. So we are, of course, working to get reaction from inside Iran, try to figure out what is happening there. I was swapping messages on WhatsApp this morning with contacts on the ground in Tehran. They were not willing to go on the record, but the fact that they could respond, they are on the internet, or at least were at that hour.

They have access to social media if they're behind a VPN. Our colleague and peers Arzou Razvani has also been in contact with people in Iran. Among them, a 30-something-year-old who we are identifying as V. V. Lives in Tehran gave only his first initial because of fear of retribution. He told Arzu he was settling into work when these attacks started. And suddenly he heard some loud noises and dent explosions. We even saw one of the explosions from our office window. It was around the middle of the city, downtown Tehran. Arzu also reached a 22-year-old college student who requested complete anonymity.

She woke up to the sound of explosion. She says this is a day she's long hoped for. So she's saying there, and I quote, I am ready to be killed by a bomb if it means the certain death of even a few of our regime officials. So a little bit of reaction there from inside Iran. Daniel, walk us through the stakes for the rest of the region. We mentioned Iran's response, lobbying missiles. If you look at a map of the Middle East, it's lit up with places that Iran fired missiles at.

And then aside from all the military activity, the street of Hormuz has been closed. Explain what that is, what that means in the region. Right. Well, the Strait of Hormuz is a strategic waterway. It's controlled by Iran. It is crucial to the world's oil trade. So this could affect global oil prices. But, you know, just, I think we just have to take a moment to take this in, right? Iran's supreme leader has been killed, according to President Trump. Iran has struck back at seven countries today. The Dubai International Airport and the United Arab Emirates, a major global hub was hit. We've seen videos of that. A building not far from me in Tel Aviv was hit, causing serious injuries. Reportedly a woman, a young woman in her 40s was killed. These are extraordinary events, even after two and a half years of extraordinary war and extraordinary events.

And the repercussions will be felt throughout the region. Greg, quick last word from you? Yeah, to just echo Daniel, this is a shock to the system. You may think you're ready for it, but you're not. You may think, my goodness, we're going to have a new country, or my goodness, how do I protect my family? And after that surge of emotion, this will play out for many days to come, and you may find out, you don't end up exactly where you think you will. That is NPR National Security correspondent Greg Myrie and NPR International Correspondent, Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, two of the many NPR reporters who have been at it all day

today. Thanks to you both. Sure thing, Mary Louise. Thanks, Mary Louise. This episode was produced by Erica Ryan, Karen Zamora, and Kai McNamee with audio engineering by Neil Tebalt. It was edited by Courtney

Dorney and Andrew Sussman. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigin. From NPR, I'm Mary Louise Kelly. Hey, Lulu here, whether we are romping through science, music, politics, technology, or feelings, we seek to leave you seeing the world anew. Radio Lab adventures right on the edge of what we think we know, wherever you get podcasts. This message comes from CBC.

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