The U.S. and Israel are carrying out a two-part strategy against Iran that has reportedly resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
President Donald Trump outlined his plan for regime change early Saturday, calling on the Iranian people to overthrow their government once bombs stop falling.
“Israel has reportedly focused on decapitation strikes and military targets, while the United States has focused mostly on military targets,” the Institute for the Study of War posted on X.
ISW also cited reports that the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s defense minister, intelligence chief, and defense council secretary were killed.
Meanwhile, Axios reported that Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike, with an official saying his body was recovered from his destroyed compound.
He had led Iran after the death of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, enforcing his repressive rule with control over the IRGC and other security forces.
The death of Khamenei could produce a succession crisis. While Iran’s constitution stipulates that a council of clerics must choose a new supreme leader, Israel’s decapitation strikes have left the country’s leadership in disarray, Axios said.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of people beyond and we feel certain, we feel, we feel that that is a correct story,” Trump told NBC News. “The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone.”
Anticipating attacks on Iran’s top leaders, the regime reportedly flattened the military’s chain of command to push decision making to lower-ranking officers. That likely helped quicken Iran’s retaliation compared to the lag seen in the immediate outbreak of the 12-day war last June.
“Iran has responded to the US and Israeli strikes with unprecedented speed,” ISW said, pointing out that 35 missiles have been launched at Israel so far.
Iran has also sent missiles and drones across the region, targeting U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf, including in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait.
But Khamenei’s death doesn’t mean a new regime will take over as other hard-liners in Iran could take his place, especially with the IRGC remaining as a center of political power.
Still, with Iran’s dictator apparently out of the picture, it could hasten the end of combat operations, even if the regime isn’t overthrown.
Trump told Axios on Saturday that he has several “off ramps,” though one option would involve additional attacks in the future.
“I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: ‘See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding [your nuclear and missile programs],” he said. “In any case, it will take them several years to recover from this attack.”
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