Reuters World News - A historic day in Iran: Ayatollah Khamenei is dead

Episode Date: March 1, 2026

Listen to our correspondents discuss the latest developments in Iran, including the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. With Khamenei gone, Iran faces a major power vacuum, leaving the country at a crossroads not seen since the 1979 revolution.  The ambitious strikes by the US and Israel against their arch enemy are President Donald Trump's riskiest move yet. Our Pentagon reporter discusses how the president was briefed on a high-risk, high-reward scenario. Yes, Iran could strike back with mass casualties. But Trump also saw a chance to reshape Middle East geopolitics and secure his legacy. Then there's the big question - how capable is Iran of fighting back? Follow the latest developments in Iran live by subscribing to Reuters. Listen to the latest On Assignment podcast: ⁠Mexico vs. the cartels Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Leader of Iran has been declared dead. And historic day in the Middle East, hour by hour, dramatic events are unfolding across the region as President Donald Trump and Israel launched their most ambitious attack yet. The stakes are high for Trump as he has briefed on the risks of America intervening in another conflict and the potential rewards if it can achieve regime chance. in Iran. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week.

I'm Kim Van Nguyenui, New Zealand, with this special episode of Reuters World News. The President of the United States says Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini is dead. The President's remarks posted on truth social came after an Israeli official told Reuters that they had found the body of Khomeini. Satellite images show black smoke rising and heavy damage at the supreme leader's compound. The announcement of his death marks an historic turning point for the Islamic Republic and a dramatic escalation in a new conflict that engulfed the Middle East in a matter of hours today.

Khomeini, who ruled Iran for more than three decades, was targeted as the United States and Israel launched their most ambitious attack on their arch enemy. Their missiles hit large swathes of Iran, from the country's north to its southern Gulf Coast, including the capital Tehran. Iran has responded, bombarding Israel with missiles, many of which were intercepted, but not all of them. Iran also attacked U.S. bases across the region, including Qatar, which hosts the largest American military base in the Middle East. They're now under siege. Trump's announcement of Khamene's death thrusts the country into levels of uncertainty, not seen since the 1979 revolution.

The Supreme Leader wielded final authority over the military, the judiciary, the media, and Iran's powerful revolutionary guard. Iran is now in open warfare, and its people are being urged by the U.S. president to revolt. With Khomey gone, there is an immediate power vacuum in Iran, but it isn't yet clear who will fill it. Over the past two weeks, the CIA has been sharing intelligence with senior U.S. officials,

briefing them on potential replacements. Aaron Banco in Washington, D.C., has the story. This is obviously a very fluid, fast-moving story, and really who knows what could happen. One of the scenarios they looked at was the possibility of the Iranian Revolutioning Guard Corps, the IRGC, which is an elite military unit in Iran, that one of its leaders could take over and fill that power vacuum. Erin says other options include other hardline figures, or, less likely, an opposition leader. But she says whoever takes over, officials in the... The U.S. don't expect any major change in Iran's policy.

When it comes to senior officials in the White House and the State Department, you know, from our reporting in recent weeks, I think what we can say here is that they expect that the power vacuum wouldn't necessarily be filled by an opposition figure. For decades now, the country has been ruled by figures like the Supreme Leader who have, you know, very hardline views about the ways in which they deal. with the world. So when it comes to policy and thinking about the world, then it would be sort of a similar figure entering that space with similar thinking on, for example, Iran's nuclear program or the ways in which the country diplomatically deals with the West, somebody equally as hard-bying would probably fill that space. The large-scale attack on Iran could be the riskiest and most consequential move of Trump's second term. It marks a pivot from quick contained operations like last month's raid in

Venezuela to what experts warned could become a drawn-out conflict with Iran and a wider regional war. So why did President Trump do this? Well, National Security reporter Phil Stewart has uncovered exclusive details about the briefings the president received ahead of the attack. One of the things that we've learned is that he was briefed primarily on this high-risk, high-reward scenario where, yes, Iran could stage, you know, basically a mass casualty event where it strikes, you know, a U.S. base or strikes a U.S. ally and kills large numbers of Americans. And conversely, there was also an opportunity, according to these advisors, to really reshape the geopolitics of the Middle East in a way that could be legacy burnishing for the president. how far Trump will go for those rewards remains to be seen. So if the campaign were to stop, say, today or tomorrow,

and the Iranian state was able to rebuild and restructure in an organized way and have a replacement for the Ayatollah, perhaps a hardline cleric or someone with religious authority, potentially you could imagine a scenario where there was very little change. But the reporting that Reuters has done in the past weeks suggests a much more, much broader potential campaign planning for a campaign that would not last, you know, hours, but potentially weeks. It's important to emphasize that for President Trump, this is the riskiest, again, operation he's ever carried out. This is a much more lofty project

with very ambitious goals that are, that are, and it opens up a very unpredictable scenario for the United States and the entire Middle East. So, We'll all be following this hour by hour for as long as it takes. As Phil says, we've seen dramatic events unfolding hour by hour on what's become a momentous day in Middle Eastern history. Iranians throughout the country woke to the sound of bombs exploding and fighter jets overhead. People were watching from rooftops as cars, trees and buildings burned below.

Israel says as well as the Irish. Ayatollah, it has taken out several of Iran's top commanders in the strikes, while the US says it targeted strategic infrastructure. It's not known how many civilians have been killed nationwide. But in the southern town of Minab, explosions from Israeli missiles killed more than 80 people according to Iranian state media, which also says many of the dead are children. Video on state media shows panicked parents sifting through the rubble while others stand frozen, staring at the still-smoking building. Iran's response to the nationwide attacks came swiftly.

Retaliatory strikes from Iran sent waves of sirens through Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where Israelis sheltered underground as explosions rocked the streets above. Missiles seen too over Doha. Bahrain and Dubai, most of which were intercepted. So just how capable is Iran of waging a full-on war with the US and Israel? Well, Iran has several proxy fighters that it supports in the region, which it could mobilize. The leader of the Houthis in Yemen, Abdulmalah Khalthi, says they stand in solidarity with Iran and is fully prepared for any developments, framing the moment as the entire,

Islamic world being under attack. Over in Iraq, which is home to several armed groups, backed or directly trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, protesters voiced their anger over the U.S. and Israeli strikes. While Russia, one of Iran's most powerful supporters, told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that Tehran was willing to engage in diplomacy, but instead has been stabbed in the back. Moscow has not, however, offered military assistance so far. Iran itself has significant military capabilities, including a growing fleet of attack drones,

but its conventional Air Force and Navy are no match for American or Israeli firepower. And its ability to sustain a prolonged conflict is sharply constrained by its economy. Years of international sanctions have severely weakened Iran's economy and constrained its growth. Plus, there's the domestic strain. Iran has faced repeated waves of anti-government protests in recent years over inflation, unemployment and political repression, unrest that has been met with force but has never fully subsided.

Global reaction to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran has been swift. European capitals saw a flurry of diplomatic activity, the UN holding an extraordinary, meeting. Prime Minister Kiyos Dama said British planes were in the sky to protect allies, but are not taking part in the strikes. Protest both supporting US and Israeli action and condemning it taking place around the world. Events are moving quickly in the Middle East, and we will continue to update Reuters World News with significant developments. In the meantime, you can keep up to date on our website and on the Reuters app.

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