Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 28, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Top Israeli official: Khamenei’s death makes Middle East peace possible
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Pakistani Shiite Muslims hold posters of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to condemn the US-Israel attack on Iran, during a protest in Lahore on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Arif ALI / AFP)
Killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “will finally make true peace possible and bring prosperity to the Middle East and beyond,” a senior Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
In addition to Khamenei being targeted, says the official, “so were scores of senior IRGC commanders.”
“Ballistic missile facilities were taken out. And the regime is being crippled.”
The official says that Israel “will continue to strike them until the existential threat posed by the Ayatollah regime is removed.”
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