Ayatollah and top intelligence officers killed

US, Israel Launch Decapitation Strike on Iranian Leadership—How It Unfolded

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and 47 other top Iranian military and intelligence officials were killed in the opening attack

"United States and Israeli forces carried out a combined strike on Feb. 28 that killed Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and took out the senior military leadership of the Persian state.

The strike was part of the opening salvo of a larger combined operation, dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the U.S. government and Operation Roaring Lion by Israel.

The 86-year-old Khamenei was killed in strikes targeting his leadership compound and residence in downtown Tehran.

Lt. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, who was chief of the general staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, and Iranian Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh were killed alongside Khamenei, according to Iranian state media.

The joint U.S. and Israeli operation also targeted a gathering of dozens of leaders at an Iranian Defense Ministry compound and a second gathering at a compound hosting Iranian intelligence leadership.

Forty-eight Iranian leaders were killed in the opening strike, U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News on March 1." [Epoch Times]