The last shah of Iran’s eldest son said Saturday the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei effectively marks the end of his birth country’s Islamic theocracy, which ousted his father from power 47 years ago.

President Donald Trump confirmed Saturday afternoon Khameni was killed during the daytime strikes against Iran carried out by the U.S. and Israel. Reza Pahlavi — whose father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ruled Iran from 1941 until his deposition in 1979 — called Khamenei a “bloodthirsty despot” and said the regime he had presided over will soon be in “the dustbin of history.”

Senior administration officials said Saturday that President Donald Trump had “no choice” but to strike Iran after the Middle East country allegedly intended to preemptively launch missiles at U.S. assets and was rebuilding its nuclear capabilities.

President Donald Trump confirmed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed during military strikes carried out Saturday by the United States and Israel.

President Donald Trump announced the U.S. military launched strikes, identified as Operation Epic Fury, in a video posted to Truth Social early Saturday morning. Khamenei’s body was subsequently recovered, Reuters National Security Correspondent Idrees Ali reported, citing Israeli sources. (RELATED: Iran Unleashes Waves Of Strikes On US Military, Israel To Make ‘Aggressors Regret Their Criminal Act’)

If anybody thought President Trump was going to mimic his military operation last June by retargeting Iran’s major nuclear facilities and then declaring victory, they were quickly mistaken.

The ongoing U.S. air campaign against Iran is far bigger and more comprehensive than Trump’s first bite at the apple eight months earlier. Partnering with Israel, a variety of targets have been set in the initial hours: Iran’s military chain-of-command and political leadership; ballistic missile facilities; the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Navy; and Iranian government facilities like the parliament, the president’s office and the feared Ministry of Intelligence. Even Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound wasn’t spared.

Air raid sirens blared across Tel Aviv and central Israel on Saturday as Iran fired ballistic missiles at the country, sending residents rushing to safe rooms once again.

The Israeli military confirmed its air defense network was actively engaging the incoming projectiles and ordered anyone hearing the warnings to seek immediate shelter, the Times of Israel reported. Defense officials said forces were intercepting threats as they approached Israeli airspace.

Officials currently serving in the Trump administration — which struck Iran on Saturday — previously criticized people who supported military action in the Middle East in op-eds and social media posts.

President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military launched Operation Epic Fury Saturday in an eight-minute video statement posted on Truth Social. The strike quickly drew criticism from current and former Trump supporters who highlighted the president’s past promises that the U.S. would avoid war under his presidency. (RELATED: Iran Unleashes Waves Of Strikes On US Military, Israel To Make ‘Aggressors Regret Their Criminal Act’)

Avowed advocates of the right-wing America First movement had harsh words for President Donald Trump after he announced the U.S. military struck Iran on Saturday morning, with one alleging the president betrayed his MAGA base.

We said “No More Foreign Wars, No More Regime Change!” We said it on rally stage after rally stage, speech after speech. Trump, Vance, basically the entire admin campaigned on it and promised to put America FIRST and Make America Great Again.
My generation has been let down,… pic.twitter.com/P0l90kaZFZ

— Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@FmrRepMTG) February 28, 2026

Iranian state media claims a joint U.S.-Israeli military strike hit a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran Saturday, killing dozens of young students as the two allies launched a massive bombardment across the country.

The governor of Minab County told Iranian state media that 51 students died and 60 suffered injuries when a missile struck a girls’ elementary school in Hormozgan province, NBC News reported. Roughly 170 girls between the ages of seven and 12 were inside the building at the time, Middle East Eye reported, citing Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in an interview with “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan released Friday that a deal between the United States and Iran was “within our reach.”

WATCH: After meeting with Vice President JD Vance, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi – a key mediator in the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks – tells @margbrennan "the peace deal is within our reach.” He also said, “I don't think any alternative to diplomacy is going to solve this… pic.twitter.com/zOuSPxLy5j

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 27, 2026

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was preparing Congress for the administration’s attack on Iran in the days leading up to the strikes, a State Department official explained to the Daily Caller.

President Donald Trump announced via video message at 2:57 AM on Saturday that his administration had begun to strike Iran in order to eliminate imminent “threats from the Iranian regime.” Ahead of the attacks, Rubio consulted with the “Gang of Eight” in an hour long briefing Tuesday, a State Department official told the Caller. (RELATED: ‘Not Under Cover Of Darkness’: Bret Baier Opines About Implications Of Daylight Strike On Iran)

The Iranian regime launched missiles and drones against American and Israeli targets Saturday, with the Islamic republic’s Foreign Ministry vowing the United States and Israel would “regret their criminal act.”

Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Regarding the military aggression by the Zionist regime and the United States against #Iran

Heroic and noble people of Iran,
Iranian compatriots,

Our sacred and beloved homeland, proud and… https://t.co/kRrzq2SjPk

— Foreign Ministry, Islamic Republic of Iran (@IRIMFA_EN) February 28, 2026

Following the U.S. military’s Saturday morning strikes against Iran, key American allies offered a mix bag of responses.

While leaders of some longstanding U.S. allies, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, offered stern words of caution that the U.S.’s “escalation” against Iran “must stop,” leaders of Anglosphere nations including Canada, the U.K., and Australia offered messages of support. (RELATED: ‘Not Under Cover Of Darkness’: Bret Baier Says Trump Sent Iran Unforgettable Message By Striking In Broad Daylight)