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Coverage · Iran–Gulf

Key event

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is killed

28 Feb 2026 Essential

What happened

Iran's Supreme Leader is killed on the opening day of the strike campaign. The Congressional Research Service attributes the killing to Israel, and records that dozens of other senior Iranian military and political figures were killed in the same period.

The office the module authors as Iran's head of state changed hands by violence in the middle of a war. Reporting indicates many of the senior posts vacated at the same time remain unfilled, which is a fact about the Iranian state's capacity rather than about any individual.

Confidence: High

When28 Feb 2026
KindLeadership change · Military
Confidence: High Sources: Congressional Research Service — Iran, the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz Methodology Corrections

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Connected records

4 records that this event names, or that name it — every one an explicit reference in a published record, nothing inferred from subject matter.

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Analytical Notes1

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Where this fits

This is one entry in the Iran–Gulf timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.