The United States and Israel chose to launch an attack on Iran on February 28 (Saturday), precisely targeting the timing when Ali Khamenei and senior officials were holding a secret meeting.
According to a report by Reuters on March 1, two American officials and one informed source revealed that Israel and the United States chose to launch the attack on Iran on February 28 local time, when Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was meeting with his senior aides.
The report stated that Israel claimed that the airstrike resulted in the deaths of several top Iranian officials, including Khamenei. Sources said that shortly before the attack began, Khamenei had met with several key officials at a secure location.
As of now, besides Khamenei being assassinated, many other senior Iranian officials have also been targeted.
Those killed in the strike also include: Ali Shamkhani, former Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and senior advisor to the Supreme Leader, and Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to a report by CCTV News, on February 28, two anonymous U.S. officials stated that around 40 Iranian officials, including the Iranian Minister of Defense, were killed in the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran. It is claimed that the casualties include the Iranian Minister of Defense and several military high-ranking officials. Mainstream international media have not independently confirmed the complete list of casualties.
Iranian state media has confirmed that senior Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Pakpour and senior advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Shamkhani were killed in the attack. It is noteworthy that Shamkhani had previously survived an assassination attempt in a June 2025 airstrike.