ADVERTISEMENT
The most consequential strike of the opening wave was the one that killed Ali Khamenei. Israeli forces struck what they described as a central leadership compound in the heart of Tehran. Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei’s death on March 1. He had led Iran since 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. His assassination sent shockwaves through Iran, through the region, and through every government that had been following the deteriorating situation with alarm. Iranian officials who survived the opening strikes expressed immediate fear, according to later reporting, that Israel intended to continue eliminating Iranian leaders until the Islamic Republic itself was dismantled.
