Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei Killed in February Airstrike; Succession Remains Unresolved

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and four family members died in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026. Multi-city funeral processions began July 7 in Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad—routing mourning through Iran's political and clerical heartland. The sequence echoes state funerals for Khomeini and Soleimani but leaves the succession open: Iran's Assembly of Experts has not yet formally begun selecting a new Supreme Leader.