Politics News
US and Israel strike Iran and Trump says Khamenei is dead: how outlets reported day one
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran early on Saturday, February 28, during Ramadan. PBS NewsHour, carrying the Associated Press, said targets included Revolutionary Guard command sites, air defences, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields, and that the strikes followed unsuccessful nuclear talks on Thursday. President Donald Trump announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed, and two Israeli officials said Israel had confirmed it.
“This will be probably your only chance for generations.” — Donald Trump, to Iranians, via AP
Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel and at US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, AP said. Iranian state media, citing the Red Crescent, reported at least 201 people killed and more than 700 injured by Saturday evening. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the attack “unprovoked, illegal and absolutely illegitimate,” and Democrats criticised Trump for acting without congressional authorisation.
The Jakarta Post, carrying AFP, stressed that Iran had not confirmed Khamenei's death: Araghchi said he was alive “as far as I know.” It said Trump described the goal as regime change rather than a nuclear deal, that the Revolutionary Guards announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and that Oman, which had been mediating, called for an immediate ceasefire.
How each outlet framed it
- PBS NewsHour (AP) — the scale of the operation, Trump's appeal to Iranians to “take back the country” and the fight in Washington over war powers.
- The Jakarta Post (AFP) — the uncertainty: an unconfirmed death, the Hormuz threat, closed airspace and a failed mediation.
- Khaleej Times — the Gulf under fire, with missiles aimed at Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha.
Where the numbers differ: For a strike on a girls' school in southern Iran, AP first cited a local governor's toll of 85, then corrected it to IRNA's figure of 40; AFP cited the judiciary's figure of 108, which it could not verify.
What happened next: Iranian state media announced early on Sunday that Khamenei had been killed in his office, Khaleej Times reported, and 40 days of mourning were declared.