bandar slot: February 2026

Saturday, February 28, 2026

The Death of Khamenei and the End of an Era

His life’s work was to preserve a revolution that is heading for the ash heap.
Women in chadors surround a large framed photograph of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP / Getty

February 28, 2026, 3:55 PM ET

“The essence of oligarchical rule,” George Orwell wrote in 1984, “is the persistence of a certain world-view and a certain way of life, imposed by the dead upon the living.” For nearly four decades, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided over exactly that. He did not build the Islamic Republic of Iran. He inherited it from its founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who in 1979 led a revolution that deposed a U.S.-aligned monarchy and replaced it with an Islamist theocracy whose three ideological pillars were “Death to America,” “Death to Israel,” and the mandatory covering of women—the hijab, he said, was “the flag of the revolution.”

Khomeini died in 1989, and his successor’s life’s work was to keep that revolution alive long after the society it governed had moved on. In this, Khamenei was remarkably, ruthlessly successful. But the worldview he imposed was never truly his own. He was the spokesman for a ghost.

Khamenei’s death by the hand of a nation he worked very hard to kill is a hinge moment in the history of the 47-year-old revolution. He was the last of the regime’s first-generation founders.

Read: The epic miscalculations of Trump and Khamenei

Khamenei’s rise was engineered not by destiny but by maneuver. In 1989, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the shrewd speaker of Parliament and the son of a pistachio merchant, helped anoint Khamenei as supreme leader by claiming that it was Khomeini’s dying wish. Rafsanjani likely believed that he was working to install a pliant figurehead. Khamenei—the son of a poor cleric from the shrine city of Mashhad—had other ideas.

Live updates: Iranian Supreme Leader is dead, Trump says | AP News

President Donald Trump announced the death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.

State media reported that the 86-year-old was killed in an airstrike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran. Satellite photos from Airbus showed that the site was heavily bombed.

His death at his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance,” state TV said.

What we know so far:

The strikes: Some of the first strikes appeared to hit areas around the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iranian media reported strikes nationwide. Smoke could be seen rising from the capital.
Iran retaliates: Hours after the strikes, Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.
Trump’s statement: The U.S. president justified the military action by claiming that Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles that can reach the U.S. Still, Trump’s decision to attack pulls him toward the kind of overseas conflict he once criticized — and has key members of Congress demanding a swift vote on a war powers resolution.

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AP's network of journalists works around the clock and from nearly 100 countries to gather facts, verify information and send updates to editors who compile them into the blog you're following now.
More explosions in Dubai

Heavy explosions again heard in Dubai.
Sri Lanka warns its nationals in the Middle East to exercise caution

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday urged nearly one million Sri Lankans working and living in the Middle East to exercise heightened vigilance, and avoid nonessential travel as well as large public gatherings.

Separately, the country’s aviation authority said flights from Sri Lanka to destinations in the Middle East have been suspended.
Argentina’s President Milei celebrates Khamenei’s death

Argentine President Javier Milei praised the joint operation carried out Saturday by the U.S. and Israel that killed Iran’s supreme leader, whom he described as “one of the most evil, violent, and cruel individuals in modern history.”

In his statement, Milei also recalled the 1994 terrorist attack on the Argentine Jewish community center, known as AMIA, in Buenos Aires.

The bombing killed 85 people and injured hundreds, marking one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history.

The president reaffirmed that pursuing justice for the victims of the AMIA attack remains a state policy.

“We will continue until the last person responsible pays with his freedom or his life for this horrific crime,” Milei said.
Sirens sound in parts of Israel

Sirens sounded across parts of Israel as its military warned of another Iranian attack.
Air defenses in Dubai go off at dawn

In Dubai, air defenses boomed off and on as the sun rose.
China organizing evacuations from Iran

A Chinese organization is registering citizens in Iran for evacuation to neighboring countries, according to a Chinese media report.

More than 200 Chinese are scattered across Iran, Tan Kai, the president of the Iran Federation of Chinese Organizations, told the Global Times newspaper.

The group is making evacuation preparations at the instruction of the Chinese Embassy, Tan said.

An embassy statement said the land borders with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey were open for individuals wishing to depart on their own.

In Israel, the Chinese Embassy advised citizens to move to safe areas away from the centers of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem and airports, power stations and similar sites.

It said it would begin registering citizens on Sunday who wish to evacuate to Egypt and cannot do so on their own.
US-Israeli strikes kill the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were killed in American-Israel airstrikes on the country, state media reported Sunday.

The state-run IRNA news agency announced the death of Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who took over as the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its past commander in the 12-day June war.

Also killed was Ali Shamkhani, long a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, IRNA said.

Shamkhani was wounded in the June war.
JUST IN: Head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser killed in US-Israeli strikes, state media reports.
Council forms to govern Iran after Khamenei’s killing

A council has formed to govern Iran after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

That council is enshrined in law in the Islamic Republic.

The council is made up of Iran’s sitting president, the head of the country’s judiciary and a member of the Guardian Council chosen by Iran’s Expediency Council, which advises the supreme leader and settles disputes with Parliament.

Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei are on it.

Iranian law says the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible” pick a new supreme leader.
Debris from an aerial interception causes fire at major Dubai port

Dubai authorities say that debris from an aerial interception sparked a fire at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the city’s main sea terminal and a major global transshipment hub.

The Dubai Media Office says emergency crews responded immediately to the blaze on one of the port’s berths and were working to contain it.

The sprawling Jebel Ali, which sits between Dubai’s two manmade palm-shaped islands, is the world’s busiest port outside of East Asia.

The best known of those islands, the Palm Jumeirah, was also struck.

Dubai officials earlier reported that debris from an intercepted drone also caused a fire on the facade of the city’s iconic Burj Al Arab hotel.

The media office also said the Dubai International Airport was damaged and that four employees were injured.

It said the damage was quickly contained.
Mourners raise black flag in Iran’s Mashhad

Mourners raised a black mourning flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and a major pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatens to launch ‘most-intense offensive operation’

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Sunday to launch its “most-intense offensive operation” ever after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The most-intense offensive operation in the history of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will begin in moments, targeting (Israel) and American terrorists bases,” it said.
JUST IN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says ‘the most-intense offensive operation’ ever coming to target Israel, US Mideast bases
JUST IN: Iranian Revolutionary Guard says ‘a severe, decisive and regret-inducing punishment’ coming over Khamenei’s killing.
Air defenses open fire in Tehran

Immediately after the announcement of Khamenei’s death, air defenses around Tehran opened fire with the sound of airstrikes echoing across the capital.
How Khamenei’s death was announced in Iran

On Iranian state television, an anchor broke in to read the announcement of Khamenei’s death.

“To the noble and proud people of Iran: With the ultimate grief and sorrow this is to inform you that following the barbaric attack by the criminal governments of America and the evil Zionist regime, the true example of faith, jihad and resistance, the Supreme Leader of the Revolution Grand Ayatollah Khamenei achieved the blessing of martyrdom,” the anchor said.
Iranian Cabinet warns ‘great crime’ will not go unanswered

Iran’s Cabinet warned early Sunday that this “great crime will never go unanswered” after a U.S.-Israeli campaign killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The statement comes after Iranian state media reported Khamenei, 86, had been killed in an airstrike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran.
JUST IN: Iranian Cabinet warns that this ‘great crime will never go unanswered’ after Khamenei is killed by US-Israeli campaign.
Iranians seen cheering in Tehran

Iranians initially cheered from rooftops and their homes in Tehran, Iran’s capital, when rumors first started to spread late Saturday of Khamenei’s death.
Iran declares 40-day mourning period for Khamenei

Iran’s government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death.
Khamenei family members killed in attacks, Fars news agency reports

The daughter and son-in-law of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were killed in the U.S.-Israeli attacks Saturday in Iran, according to a semiofficial news agency.

Also killed in the Saturday attacks were a grandchild and a daughter-in-law, the Fars News Agency said, citing unidentified sources.

The agency didn’t provide further details.
Israel says it carried out dozens of strikes Sunday

Israel’s military said it carried out strikes in central and western Iran early Sunday that targeted “ballistic missile array and aerial defense systems.”

It said more than 30 targets were hit.

Iran has not acknowledged its materiel losses since the American-Israeli campaign began Saturday.
Khamenei died in Tehran compound, Iran state media says

Iranian state television described Khamenei as being at his compound in downtown Tehran when the initial attack began.

Satellite photos from Airbus showed the site heavily bombed.

His death at his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance,” state TV said.
Iran state media says Khamenei is dead

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, is dead, Iranian state media reported early Sunday.

Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency reported his death, without elaborating on a cause of death.

U.S. President Donald Trump had said earlier he’d been killed in a joint American-Israeli operation targeting Iran.
JUST IN: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, Iranian state media reports
Global shipping firm tells its vessels in the Persian Gulf to shelter

A global shipping firm has instructed its vessels inside the Persian Gulf, and bound to the Persian Gulf, to shelter, citing the rapid military escalation between the U.S., Israel and Iran, and restrictions on traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The company, CMA CGM, said on its website that it has suspended the passage of its vessels through the Suez Canal, a crucial waterway connecting the Red and Mediterranean seas.

“Vessels will be rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope,” it said.
New Zealand says US and Israeli attacks meant to stop Iran’s security threat

New Zealand says the U.S and Israeli attacks were designed to prevent the Iranian regime from threatening international peace and security.

“New Zealand has consistently condemned Iran’s nuclear program, its destabilising activities in the region and elsewhere, and its repression of its own people,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a joint statement.

Friday, February 27, 2026

US backs Pakistan’s ‘right to defend itself’ against Taliban after strikes on Afghanistan

The Taliban government in Kabul stressed it was ready to negotiate on Friday as violence intensified between the two countries.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahi said: “The Islamic emirate of Afghanistan has always tried to resolve issues through dialogue, and now also we want to resolve this matter through dialogue,” he said.

The Pakistani strikes hit parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia on Thursday night, and Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Laghman on Friday, he said.

Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif earlier said his country was in “open war” with Afghanistan, and that patience had run out in Islamabad.

The latest wave of attacks came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night, which Afghanistan said was in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas last weekend.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering militant groups that stage attacks across the border – a claim denied by Kabul – and of allying with India, its historic enemy and regional rival.

The UK and the EU called for swift de-escalation, and urged both sides to reenter negotiations. While a Qatari-mediated ceasefire ended fighting in 2025, talks in Istanbul in November did not yield a formal peace agreement.
Pakistan bombs Kabul in latest escalation with Afghanistan – video

Allison Hooker, US under secretary of state for political affairs, spoke on Friday with Amna Baloch, the Pakistani foreign secretary, and expressed condolences “for lives lost” in the recent violence with Afghanistan.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and expressed support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks,” Hooker wrote on X.

Pakistan is a key ally of Washington, which considers the Afghan Taliban – which returned to power in Kabul in 2021, following the chaotic withdrawal of US-led forces – to be a “terrorist” group.

The European Union called for “immediate de-escalation and a halt of hostilities” and warned of potentially “serious implications” for the region.

“The EU reiterates that Afghan territory must not be used to threaten or attack other countries and calls on the Afghan de facto authorities to take effective action against all terrorist groups operating in or from Afghanistan,” said Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.

“We urge both sides to engage in dialogue,” added Kallas. “International law, including humanitarian law, must be fully respected by all actors. The protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure must be ensured, and all feasible precautions must be taken to prevent further civilian harm.”

Yvette Cooper, UK foreign secretary, wrote on X: “The UK is deeply concerned by the significant escalation in tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We urge both sides to take immediate steps toward de‑escalation, avoid further harm to civilians, and re‑engage in mediated dialogue.”

Beyond party lines, people’s leader Nallakannu draws heartfelt farewell

CHENNAI: As hundreds gathered in Egmore to bid farewell to freedom fighter and veteran CPI leader R Nallakannu, it was the quiet presence of ordinary people — especially youngsters with little or indirect political affiliation — that defined the mood at the public homage and final procession.

“I called her. She’ll be here soon,” said Joyce, speaking to her college friends as they waited in the swelling crowd for a final glimpse of the centenarian leader. Moments later, Renuka joined them, and the four stood shoulder to shoulder among mourners, reflecting a generational curiosity about a leader many had only recently discovered.

“My father insisted I come, even if it meant bunking college,” said Yamuna, a Keralite living in Chennai. Calling Nallakannu “one of a kind,” she echoed her father’s description of him as “a rare earthly politician,” admired even by those outside his ideological fold.

The gathering was notable for the number of students unconnected to Left organisations. Many admitted they knew little about Nallakannu’s role in farmers’ movements or his work against caste oppression in southern Tamil Nadu. Yet, their reasons for attending were strikingly similar: a desire to witness the farewell of a leader they believed represented integrity in public life.

“He is a leader who walked villages, not just spoke on stages,” said Sachidhanantham (48), who took emergency leave from work to attend. Recalling his family’s experiences with caste discrimination, he said Nallakannu’s lifelong efforts against social injustice made his presence at the homage a personal obligation. His voice remained steady, though his eyes betrayed emotion.

Despite never cultivating celebrity status or mass political spectacle, Nallakannu drew long queues of mourners cutting across party lines and age groups. People purchased floral tributes, waited patiently for hours, and lingered after paying respects, reflecting on a life marked by simplicity, conviction and unwavering commitment to social justice.

Among the crowd, veteran CPI and CPM cadres were seen engaging with younger attendees, asking why they had come and whether the ideals associated with the Communist movement would endure. For some older cadres, the scene symbolised both loss and continuity, with one breaking down as he spoke about the passing of a legacy to a new generation.

Nallakannu’s public life — as a freedom fighter, advocate for the oppressed, campaigner against sand smuggling and soft-spoken yet resolute Communist leader — is well documented. However, it was the steady, unaffiliated crowd at his farewell that underscored the broader imprint of his politics.

The veteran leader’s final journey concluded with the fulfilment of his wish to donate his body to Madras Medical College for research, a gesture consistent with the modest and purposeful life remembered by those who gathered to bid him goodbye.

Pakistan says ‘patience exhausted’, strikes Taliban targets in Afghanistan

A source within the Afghan government confirmed that Kabul had been hit, while Pakistani warplanes also targeted a military base in Kandahar province. Pakistani information minister Attaullah Tarar asserted that 133 Taliban fighters had been killed in the strikes, which targeted positions in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia. He added that nine Taliban positions had been captured and 27 destroyed, with attacks continuing unabated.

The Afghan government struck back. Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan forces had launched retaliatory attacks on Pakistani bases in Kandahar and Helmand provinces following Islamabad’s offensive. Afghan military sources reported 10 Pakistani soldiers killed and 13 outposts captured in the counter-strikes, part of a cycle of violence that began with Pakistani attacks on Afghan positions along the border on Sunday.

The two neighbors’ relations have steadily deteriorated since October, when clashes along the 2,611km (1,622-mile) frontier left more than 70 people dead. Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring armed groups, including the Pakistan Taliban — a distinct movement with ideological ties to the Afghan Taliban — that have launched attacks on Pakistani soil.

Asif framed Pakistan’s actions as the bitter fruit of prolonged restraint. “We tried every avenue — direct diplomacy, engagement through friendly countries, full-fledged negotiation — but the Taliban became a proxy for India,” he said. “For decades, Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees, providing them with livelihoods and shelter. But now, enough is enough. This is open war.”

The international community, alarmed by the escalating crisis, has called for urgent de-escalation. UN secretary-general António Guterres urged both sides to honor international humanitarian law and to protect civilians, commending ongoing mediation efforts by member states.

Meanwhile, Zalmay Khalilzad, former US ambassador to Afghanistan, warned that the spiraling cycle of attacks was a “terrible dynamic that must stop.” He urged a diplomatic accord in which neither nation allows its territory to be used to threaten the other, monitored by a trusted third party such as Turkiye, as a far wiser alternative to the ongoing cycle of bloodshed.

Congress stages walkout from Haryana Assembly over VB-GRAMG resolution

The proceedings of the Haryana Assembly witnessed high drama on Thursday as Congress legislators staged a walkout, protesting what they described as a violation of House rules in the introduction of a resolution concerning the VB-G RAM G law.

The storm broke shortly after a motion was tabled to introduce the resolution. BJP MLA Ram Kumar Kashyap rose to read it out, but senior Congress leader B.B. Batra swiftly intervened, questioning under which rule the House was taking up the matter. Citing Rule 84 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, Batra argued that a resolution listed under this provision cannot undergo substantive alteration once moved.

The speaker, however, maintained that the House is empowered to deliberate on any issue it deems fit. Unconvinced, Congress members rose in protest and walked out.

Later, deputy leader of the Congress Legislative Party Aftab Ahmed and chief whip B.B. Batra issued a joint statement alleging that the resolution’s wording had been fundamentally altered. What was originally framed as a discussion on extending employment guarantee from 100 days to 125 days under the Viksit Bharat G-RAM-G scheme, they said, had been recast to address “confusion” surrounding the scheme’s provisions. Such a transformation, they contended, was impermissible under Rule 84.

“The interpretation of the rules governs the dignity and discipline of the House,” the statement read. “When a proposal is not maintainable under the rules, discussion upon it cannot be legally sustained.” The boycott, they insisted, was not an evasion of debate but a stand to preserve parliamentary tradition and uphold the sanctity of the rulebook.

The Congress leaders clarified that they were not averse to discussing either the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or the VB-G RAM G scheme, provided such deliberations were conducted within the established framework—either under proper procedural rules or during the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s Address.

Responding sharply on the floor of the House, chief minister Nayab Singh Saini asserted that under the VB-G RAM G law, beneficiaries are entitled to 125 days of work — an expansion from the 100 days provided during the UPA-era MGNREGA.

Parliamentary affairs minister Mahipal Dhanda echoed the charge, accusing the Congress of fuelling confusion about the scheme among the public.

What unfolded in the Assembly was not merely a dispute over procedure, but a clash of interpretations — of rules, of policy, and of political symbolism — reflecting the charged atmosphere that now envelops the debate over rural employment in Haryana.

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