Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Authorized crackdown; acknowledged 'several thousand' deaths

On February 14, 2026, an estimated 250,000 people marched through Munich during the Munich Security Conference, the largest protest ever held in Europe against Iran's government. The same day, 350,000 gathered in Toronto and 60,000 in Los Angeles—part of a coordinated Global Day of Action called by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah, who has lived outside Iran for 47 years. Over one million people participated worldwide.

Updated 5 hours ago

Killed in US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026; succeeded by son Mojtaba

The December 2025 uprising was suppressed at massive cost. HRANA's February 23 report, 'The Crimson Winter,' verified 7,007 deaths—6,488 adult protesters, 236 minors, 207 security forces, and 76 bystanders—with another 11,744 cases still under review. President Pezeshkian publicly apologized for the massacres on February 11.

Updated 3 days ago

Killed in US-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28, 2026; succeeded as Supreme Leader by his son Mojtaba Khamenei on March 9, 2026

US and Iranian negotiators agreed to 'broad principles' of a deal on May 25, with Iran accepting in principle to dispose of its highly enriched uranium and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Foreign Ministry said a signed agreement was 'not imminent' and accused Washington of shifting positions — a day after a senior US official described the framework as '95% there.'

Updated 4 days ago

Killed Feb 28; son Mojtaba designated successor Mar 8

Three U.S. carrier strike groups deployed: USS Abraham Lincoln (Arabian Sea since January 2026), USS Gerald R. Ford (Mediterranean), and USS George H.W. Bush. This triple-carrier presence responded to Iran's crackdown on December 2025 protests.

Updated 5 days ago

Ordered crackdown that triggered EU designation

For over two decades, the European Union resisted designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, wary of severing diplomatic ties with Tehran. On January 29, 2026, that resistance collapsed. All 27 EU foreign ministers voted unanimously to place the IRGC on the same legal footing as al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Islamic State—a designation that triggers automatic asset freezes and travel bans across the bloc. Within hours, the United Kingdom signaled it would follow suit with separate legislation targeting hostile state agencies.

Updated 6 days ago

Approved premeditated crackdown blueprint; warned by officials of collapse risk from US strikes

Iran's 2022 uprising killed roughly 500 people over several months. The current one has killed at least 6,842 people (possibly more than 30,000) in just over five weeks; leaked documents reveal Supreme Leader Khamenei approved a premeditated crackdown blueprint months in advance.[1][2]

Updated 6 days ago

Acknowledged 'thousands' killed, blames U.S. and Israel

Bazaar merchants bankrolled Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Now they're in the streets demanding its end.

Updated 7 days ago

Publicly acknowledged 'thousands' killed in crackdown, blamed Trump and U.S.-Israel conspiracy

The Islamic Republic has survived four decades of protests—but never anything like this. What began on December 28 as Tehran bazaar merchants protesting a collapsing currency became Iran's largest uprising since the 1979 revolution, with demonstrations in all 31 provinces.

Updated May 21

Acknowledged 'thousands' killed on January 17; called 'sick man' by Trump who demanded regime change; warned Trump would 'be brought down' like historical tyrants; faces EU terrorist designation of IRGC

Iran's nationwide uprising, triggered by December 28, 2025 bazaar marches in Tehran, was crushed in what may be the deadliest massacre in the Islamic Republic's history. An internet blackout that began January 8 was partially restored around January 17-18, though connectivity remains severely restricted. Early reports confirmed 572 deaths; after internet restoration in late January, the Human Rights Activists News Agency documented at least 6,126 deaths, with estimates ranging from 12,000 to over 36,500.

Updated May 20

Ordered crackdown on protesters, vowed regime won't back down

Iran's judiciary chief announced January 14 that detained protesters face fast-track trials and executions, despite Trump's warning of "very strong action." The death toll hit at least 2,571, per Human Rights Activists News Agency — four times the count from two days earlier and more than any crackdown since 1979.

Updated May 20

Vowing regime will 'not back down' to protests

The Iranian rial lost half its value in six months, prompting merchants—the same traders who toppled the Shah in 1979—to shut down Tehran's Grand Bazaar on December 28. Within two weeks, the strike became the largest uprising since the Islamic Revolution; credible estimates range from 500 to 3,000 dead after a five-day internet blackout, with the IRGC firing live ammunition on crowds.

Updated May 20

Killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026

The Iran-US war reached its 73rd day with talks at a deadlock. Trump called Iran's May 10 response 'garbage' and declared the ceasefire on 'massive life support'; the US wants Iran to halt enrichment for 12 years and hand over 440 kilograms of enriched uranium, while Iran is demanding war reparations and full Hormuz sovereignty.

Updated May 11

Killed in Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026

The April 8 ceasefire lasted less than 24 hours — Iran re-closed the Strait of Hormuz the next day. The U.S. responded with a naval blockade of Iranian ports by April 12, and oil surged to $126 per barrel by late April.

Updated May 11

Killed in Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026 during joint US-Israel Operation Roaring Lion; replaced as Supreme Leader by son Mojtaba Khamenei on March 8, 2026

Diplomatic efforts to constrain Iran's nuclear program collapsed into open war on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran—codenamed Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion—targeting military infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and senior leadership. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes; his son Mojtaba Khamenei was elected by the Assembly of Experts as the new Supreme Leader on March 8, but has not appeared publicly since, reportedly recovering from injuries sustained in the same strike that killed his father. Iran retaliated across the region and closed the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of world oil trade flows. A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan took effect on April 8, under which Iran agreed to reopen the Strait—though Iran re-closed it on April 18 after the United States refused to lift a naval blockade imposed following failed peace talks.

Updated Apr 20

Killed by Israeli strike, March 1, 2026

Operation Epic Fury, launched jointly by the United States and Israel on February 28, 2026, reached day 39 with the heaviest strikes yet on Iran, confirming over 9,000 targets hit, more than 130 naval vessels destroyed, and at least 55 senior regime leaders killed—including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on March 1, IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri on March 26, and on April 6, IRGC intelligence chief Majid Khademi and Quds Force Unit 840 head Yazdan Mir in US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran. Key escalations include Iran's March 18 missile strikes on Israel and Gulf states, Qatar's expulsion of Iranian attachés after the March 19 Ras Laffan attack, the Israeli airstrike killing IRGC spokesman General Ali Mohammad Naeini on March 20, CENTCOM's March 21 update confirming 8,000 targets hit and air superiority, Iran's March 24 missile barrages on Tel Aviv, March 27 Israeli strikes on Iran's central naval arms production site and multiple ballistic missile factories in the Tehran area, Iran's April 2 launch of four missile salvos at Israel including cluster warheads, April 3's downing of a US F-15E Strike Eagle—the first American combat aircraft lost—and April 5's successful rescue of both crew members by US special operations forces after a two-day evasion and extraction operation.

Updated Apr 7

Killed February 28, 2026

Iran's nuclear infrastructure has become the primary target of an intensifying US-Israeli air campaign that began February 28 and has now entered its sixth week. The Natanz uranium enrichment complex has been struck four times; on April 4, 2026, US and Israeli forces expanded the campaign to strike the Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Mahshahr petrochemical hub in southwestern Iran, killing at least one security guard and wounding five workers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that strikes on civilian nuclear power plants cross 'the reddest line' of nuclear safety, raising the risk of a radiological catastrophe. Meanwhile, Iran has demonstrated growing military capability: on April 4, Iranian air defenses downed two US warplanes, marking the first confirmed loss of American aircraft in the conflict.

Updated Apr 4

Killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026

Dubai International Airport processed 95.2 million passengers in 2025 and overtook Atlanta in January 2026 as the world's busiest airport. On March 1, Iranian retaliatory missiles and drones struck its terminals, forcing a full evacuation and suspending all operations. On March 16—16 days into the conflict—a drone struck a fuel tank near the airport, reigniting flight suspensions and forcing Emirates to cancel additional flights despite partial airspace reopening. Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Kuwait airports shut down simultaneously on February 28, severing the three Gulf hubs that together route a large share of long-haul traffic between Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Updated Mar 16

Killed February 28, 2026

For more than four decades, US embassies in the Middle East and Africa have faced bombings, sieges, and missile strikes. None has been attacked in Western Europe — until an incendiary device detonated at the entrance of the US Embassy in Oslo at 1:00 a.m. on March 8, shattering windows and sending smoke into the street. No one was injured. Norwegian police say terrorism is one hypothesis under investigation, and they are weighing whether the blast is connected to the eight-day-old US-Iran war.

Updated Mar 8

Killed in US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026

Iran's Supreme Leader controlled both the presidency and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for over four decades. Eight days after a joint United States-Israeli airstrike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that unified chain of command has visibly fractured: President Masoud Pezeshkian announced a halt to strikes on neighboring countries and personally apologized to Gulf states for hitting their civilian infrastructure, only for the IRGC to strike a U.S. air base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hours later and issue a statement telling the public to 'ignore Pezeshkian's words during the war.'

Updated Mar 8

Killed in US-Israeli strike on February 28, 2026

Ali Khamenei ruled Iran as supreme leader for 36 years until joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026, killed him along with family members and multiple top military and intelligence officials at his Tehran compound, triggering an opaque succession process under fire. With the Assembly of Experts’ Qom site damaged in Israeli strikes and its deliberations driven underground, acting leader Ali Larijani faces a power vacuum in which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ interim command council is trying to preserve operational control while missiles and drones continue to fly across the region.

Updated Mar 7

Killed February 28, 2026, in Israeli airstrike on his Tehran compound

For four decades, the United States and Iran avoided direct, large-scale war. That changed on February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and leadership compounds, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The assault followed collapsed indirect nuclear talks mediated by Oman. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US bases in the Gulf, oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Embassy in Riyadh.

Updated Mar 4

Killed in Israeli airstrike, February 28, 2026

The last time the United States sank Iranian warships was April 18, 1988. Thirty-eight years later, American forces destroyed nine Iranian naval vessels in a single day and demolished the country's naval headquarters at Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman. The strikes came after Iran attempted to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, the 21-mile-wide passage through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply flows, broadcasting radio warnings that no commercial ship would be allowed to pass.

Updated Mar 1

Killed in US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026

Pakistan has the second-largest Shia Muslim population on earth, roughly 30 million people. When joint United States-Israeli airstrikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, the grief and fury of that community spilled into the streets of every major Pakistani city within hours. In Karachi, hundreds of protesters tried to breach the perimeter of the US consulate; security forces opened fire, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 50. In the northern Shia-majority region of Gilgit-Baltistan, crowds torched a United Nations office, a police station, and several government buildings in Skardu, prompting the army's deployment under emergency constitutional authority.

Updated Mar 1