Posted February 28, 2026
According to Israeli intelligence, Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has been found dead after the US and Israel carried out air strikes early this morning on Tehran. The ayatollah’s body has reportedly been pulled from rubble left by the strikes.
This is the latest news on what may be “the most important day of the 21st century so far.” Early this morning, US and Israeli forces launched “Operation Epic Fury.” In a video statement posted Saturday at 2:30 a.m. ET, President Trump stated, “A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
After describing the regime’s terrorist actions against America and the West since it took power forty-seven years ago, the president stated that “the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests.”
He said this operation would “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground,” annihilate their navy, ensure their proxies can “no longer destabilize the region or the world,” and “ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.”
He called upon Iran’s armed forces and police to lay down their weapons and have immunity or “face certain death.” And he told the “great, proud people of Iran” that “the hour of your freedom is at hand.” He asked them to stay in their homes during the operation and then, “when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also released a statement saying the objective of the operation was “to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.” He added, “Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”
Unlike Germany and Japan in World War II, America does not seek to build or extend a geographical empire. We have very limited economic relations with Iran and no geopolitical interest in owning or controlling the country.
However, as I noted in my book, The War in Israel, Iran’s military and theocratic leaders believe their ultimate mission is to prepare the way for the Mahdi (a Muslim messianic figure) to return and dominate the world for Islam. Iran’s hardline clergy claim that the “Jewish state will be destroyed before Mahdi’s arrival” and are violently opposed to any nations that support Israel, especially the United States.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the Iranian Revolution of 1979, was inspired by the Marxist scholar Ali Shariati, who divided the world into the oppressed (including Iran) and the oppressors (primarily the West). Shariati, therefore, framed a revolutionary ideology to oust the “oppressors” and “liberate” Iranians.
Iran’s Shiite theocrats believe they are leading not just a republic but a revolution to export their radicalized Islam in preparation for the coming of the Mahdi. Hence, their support for proxies across the Middle East, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, each of which desires to destroy Israel and expel the West from the region.
In his video, President Trump stated that Iran has “attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies, our troops stationed overseas, and could soon reach the American homeland.”
Iran’s ongoing quest for nuclear weapons is therefore an existential threat. The existence of the regime in the service of its apocalyptic ideology matters more to its leaders than the safety of their people, as they showed when they massacred thousands of their own citizens in response to mass protests in January.
This is why the US and Israel determined that negotiations had failed and that regime change was essential to peace in the Middle East and the world.
The compound of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly been turned into rubble; Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has also been targeted by Israeli air strikes. Israeli officials now assess that Iran’s minister of defense and the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps were also among those killed in the targeted strikes.
Iran is already retaliating, targeting US interests and allies across the Middle East. US military facilities have been targeted in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have been hit in attacks as well.
Whatever comes next, Mr. Trump has made clear that there will be no ground force invasion of Iran. As he stated, the goal is for the Iranian people to take back their country. In a phone interview with the Washington Post earlier today, he said, “All I want is freedom for the people. I want a safe nation, and that’s what we’re going to have.”
Former Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi, the most prominent opposition leader, called the US and Israeli strikes a “humanitarian intervention” and stated, “It is we, the people of Iran, who will finish this task in this final battle. The time to return to the streets is approaching.” He urged Iranian security forces to lay down their arms and help topple the regime.
Some Iranians are already hoping the strikes will lead to the regime’s fall. A doctor who treated protesters who were injured during January’s rallies said the best-case scenario would be a quick and relatively bloodless attack focused on eliminating the regime’s leadership. But the physician worried that a limited attack could also strengthen hardliners or leave a power vacuum that could turn Iran into a failed state.
This fear is not unfounded.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps officers could follow the playbook of Iraq’s Ba’athists and Afghanistan’s Taliban, going underground and then seeking to terrorize their way back into power. This could spark a civil war in Iran and a race for the equipment and material that remains from the regime’s nuclear program. It is also plausible that Iran’s missile responses will hit key petroleum infrastructure in the Middle East, spiking the global price of oil.
The fact that Operation Epic Fury was launched on Saturday gives Christians meeting for worship tomorrow a strategic opportunity to intercede in response. In light of today’s historic news, we can pray biblically for:
Iran’s leaders and people to turn to Christ before it is too late.
War graphically illustrates the fact that tomorrow is promised to no one, which is why “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Pray for Jesus to reveal himself supernaturally to Muslims and others, and for his Spirit to draw many to himself. Such a transformation of Iran’s surviving leaders would be especially vital to the nation’s future.
Safety for our soldiers and for innocent civilians everywhere, including in Iran.
Scripture consistently declares that our Father loves all people everywhere, whether they trust in him as Lord or not (Romans 5:8). We are to love as we are loved (1 John 4:19).
Courage and protection for Iranian Christians.
The Christian movement in Iran is the fastest-growing church in the world. They may face reprisals from those who consider them to be aligned with the West by virtue of their religion. At the same time, this may be an unprecedented opportunity for the gospel and for their courageous witness. Pray that God would “grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness” (Acts 4:29).
God to be glorified and his redemptive purpose to be fulfilled.
Our Master taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Do you believe it is God’s will for a genuine spiritual awakening to be catalyzed from this conflict in Iran and to spread throughout the Middle East and beyond?
If so, let us pray fervently for his will to be done, to the glory of God.
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