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Israel Claims Iran's Supreme Leader Killed In Strikes; Interview With Representative Eugene Vindman (D-VA); U.S. And Israel Attack Iran: Tehran Retaliates Across Middle East; Trump: Iran's Supreme Leader Killed In Strikes; Iranian-Americans On Iran Attack And Death Of Supreme Leader. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired February 28, 2026 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You will hear the air raid sirens blaring. Missiles have been launched toward Israel throughout the day.

This was the scene again just a few moments ago over Tel Aviv. This news coming following a massive military campaign launched jointly by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. President Donald Trump appealing directly to the Iranian people saying in a televised statement the government will be theirs to take.

Iranian state media reporting more than 200 people have died as a result of the strikes including dozens following a strike that hit a girls' school in the southern part of the country. Iran has responded by unleashing unprecedented attacks across the region, across the Middle East, including on a number of Gulf States and cities.

And we have continued to see this play out throughout the day. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a short while ago urging Iranians to support regime change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Iranian citizens, don't miss this opportunity. It's once in a lifetime opportunity because soon there's going to be a moment that you'll have to go to the streets to complete this act and to topple this regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And of course, there remains a lot of questions about how the Iranian people might do that.

I want to bring in Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond, who's there in Tel Aviv.

Jeremy, you were standing by as we were watching the missiles coming in just a few moments ago. Netanyahu is asking Iranians to take to the streets and finish the job -- finish this job. And again, as I was noting, there are questions around exactly how logistically they can do that.

What are you hearing there in Israel? And again, what is the mood right now as this continues to evolve moment to moment?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well let me talk to you first, Jessica, about what just took place here in Tel Aviv over the course of the last half hour or so. Multiple air raid sirens going off. My team and I witnessed, you know, dozens, it would seem, of these missile interceptors going into the sky but what my colleague Abeer Salman, our producer here, also witnessed was one of those missiles actually making impact in the Tel Aviv area, and we saw quite a large fireball erupting when one of these missiles appears to have gotten through Israel's air defenses and slammed into an area here in or near Tel Aviv, what appears to be south of our position right now.

We just got a video in actually from Israel's rescue service, Magen David Adom, which appears to show some of the aftermath of this strike. We can see a large fire, vehicles that have been severely damaged, as well as a building that was also severely damaged in this strike. And this is -- comes as Iran fired what appears to have been its largest barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel today in this barrage that we saw over the course of the last half hour and at least one of those missiles appears to have made it through Israel's air defenses and actually struck in or near the Tel Aviv area.

We don't yet have any reports or assessments of casualties as a result of this, but it is perhaps the most significant strike that's taken place so far as a result of this Iranian retaliation.

Now, separately, we've been talking about the news that we broke in the last hour that Iran's supreme leader has been killed by Israeli strikes today. That's according to two Israeli sources speaking with me and my colleague Tal Shalev, that the supreme leader was targeted in these strikes. And in the last several hours Israeli officials were able to get high enough confidence to confirm that Khamenei was indeed killed.

One of those pieces of evidence, it seems, was actually photographic evidence according to one of those sources showing Khamenei's dead body in Iran. An earthquake moment in the Middle East and for the future of Iran of course, given the fact that Khamenei has been in power since 1989. He has been responsible for so much of Iran's support of militant groups in the Middle East, its nuclear ambitions, and of course, the violent repression of protests over the course of the last several decades.

Most recently just last month when Iranian forces killed thousands of Iranians who took to the streets to protest their government and now Israeli officials confirming that he is dead, killed in this Israeli strike. And, of course, those strikes still very much continuing in Iran, both Israeli and American -- Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, an earthquake in the Middle East, Jeremy. That is -- that is certainly the case. And we will see the continued fallout and what comes next. Please stand by. Thank you so much.

[16:05:05]

I do want to go to Washington now to CNN's Natasha Bertrand. And Natasha, we're learning, we're hearing more from the Trump

administration about their thinking going into all of this. What more are you are -- you hearing from your sources?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we did hear from a senior administration official earlier today that said that the rationale for this strike that the U.S. took at this time, at this moment, was because they had certain intelligence suggesting that the Iranians were going to be using their missiles to preemptively strike U.S. forces and assets in the region, and so the president decided that it was better to preemptively strike Iran before they could actually launch those missiles against the U.S. forces in the region.

However, we're told, according to a source familiar with the intelligence, that there were no indications that the Iranians were actually going to strike first. So that kind of undercuts the administration's rationale for the immediacy of this operation. But in terms of what the U.S. forces in the -- in the region actually did earlier this morning to carry out this operation, we did receive a statement earlier today from U.S. Central Command which detailed all of the operational elements that went into this, including prioritizing locations that they say posed an imminent threat.

Again, going back to that talking point by the administration that the Iranians were preparing some kind of attack first against the U.S. Now, the CENTCOM statement said the targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields. So they are saying here that they were prioritizing military targets.

That does stand in contrast to what we have heard from the Israelis, which is that they appear to have been focused on targeting Iranian political and regime and military leaders. So there does seem to be somewhat of a divvying up here of the responsibilities in terms of how the U.S. and Israel are working together as part of this operation.

We should note as well that Central Command said that despite the waves of missile and drone attacks that Iran launched in retaliation to those U.S. and Israeli strikes across the region, including targeting U.S. bases in the region, including in Bahrain, there were no U.S. casualties, at least not at this time. And the damage that was done to U.S. military facilities was also very minimal -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Natasha Bertrand, great reporting. Thank you for that.

CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid is joining us now. He's also a global affairs correspondent at Axios and a former Axios Middle East correspondent. Barak, before I get to you, I do want to share some information we're

getting that President Donald Trump has been telling NBC News in a new interview that a large amount, in his words, of Iranian leadership was killed during the strikes. He said, his quote was, "The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone." He went on to suggest that he believes that this reporting that we have been telling everyone about, citing these Israeli sources, that the supreme leader is dead. He says he -- that we feel that is a correct story.

And Barak, I know you spoke with the president earlier today. What more are you learning?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: So the president, when I spoke to the president, I think the situation was still a bit unclear on where this thing stands regarding Khamenei's fate. I think the information that confirmed that he's dead, meaning actual evidence of photos of his body, arrived only afterwards. And I think that it's -- as the president said, as far as I know, it's not only the supreme leader. There were at least more than two dozen top civilian political and military officials in the targets that were attacked in the sites that were attacked.

Many of them have been eliminated. The IDF announced officially that the commander of the IRGC have been -- has been eliminated. The commander of the Iranian armed forces has been eliminated, that the head of the Iranian intelligence and many others. This is highly significant because it means that they -- that a big part of Iran's political and military chain of command is gone and the person to look at right now is Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security in Iran.

He was one of the closest confidants of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader. And he is heading now the most important and influential national security body inside Iran. And he's, you know, in fact, he's running the country right now. And in a -- in a post that he posted on X, just, you know, an hour ago, he was still talking about revenge and what Iran is going to do.

[16:10:06]

But Larijani was highly involved in the diplomacy before the war. And if we try to make you know, to see how this situation might be somewhat like the Venezuela case, even though it's highly different, not the same thing, but I think the Trump administration, like in Venezuela, want to see if now, after, with Khamenei gone, whether there's somebody else in Iran who will be ready to do the deal that Donald Trump wanted.

I'm not sure Larijani is this guy, but I think maybe not immediately but in the medium term, maybe he will be able to do things that Khamenei refuse to do.

DEAN: And when you say that, Barak, do you see that as a more extreme version, doing things that that he wouldn't do or a less extreme version?

RAVID: It's not whether -- look, Ali Larijani is not a Boy Scout. He is not a -- he wouldn't vote for Donald Trump. He wouldn't vote for Benjamin Netanyahu. But I think he's much more pragmatic when it comes to engagement with the U.S. in serious and real negotiations. He's an ideologue, but he's a pragmatic ideologue, and therefore, at least what I heard from several U.S. and Israeli officials, they think, by the way, and also Iranian officials, they all think that Larijani is the guy that can make -- that can make the deal, especially after Khamenei is gone.

DEAN: Very interesting. A very good piece of context there.

Barak Ravid, thank you. Thank you for that reporting.

Virginia congressman, Democratic Congressman Eugene Vindman is joining us now. He's a retired U.S. army colonel and member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for being here with us. First, I just want to get your reaction to this, as Jeremy Diamond called it, an earthquake in the Middle East that we now Israeli sources saying that we -- that they can determine that the supreme leader is dead in Iran.

REP. EUGENE VINDMAN (D-VA): Well, look, I'm not going to be shedding a tear for the ayatollah or for the Iranian regime who's been responsible of course the last 47 years of more American deaths than just about any other regime, and in also wounding my own twin brother, who was deployed to Iraq by an EFP.

What I will say is that this president has become enamored with war, and he's using something like a hope as a strategy. He's hoping air power is sufficient to change the calculus of this regime. He's hoping on an uprising. And what I'm not seeing is anything that resembles a plan on a country that as large as Iran, without any boots on the ground, I am frankly skeptical. And that's in light of last year's claims by the Trump administration that they had already destroyed, obliterated was the terminology they used, the Iranian nuclear program which is obviously -- was obviously a lie.

DEAN: And we are getting word now that there are cheers and celebrations happening in the streets of Tehran now that that word is starting to spread. To your point, the question is, if an objective, if the objective is regime change, as the president has indicated, telling the Iranian people it is theirs to take back, there are questions about how logistically that happens. How do the Iranian people do that?

Do you have concerns about that? And what do you think the U.S. -- how do you think the U.S. should support the Iranian people?

VINDMAN: Well, that's really the ultimate question. So we know that this war was started illegally under international law and under domestic law. The president had an obligation of taking his case to the American people and to Congress. That's in the Constitution. And now that we're here that president once again is hoping that there will be an uprising. Well, we just heard that there is a standing million-man army that is largely remains in place.

You've decapitated some leadership, obviously, but the army remains in place. They have nuclear breakout capability that is potentially only weeks away from creating a device, and they have the ability to shoot salvoes of missiles. And so how long are we willing to commit American blood and treasure to this endeavor? We don't know because the president has not made his case to the American people.

[16:15:01]

DEAN: And knowing all of that, that you just laid out, there is -- there is also the possibility that the Iranian people do rise up. And if good comes from this in that way and allows them more freedom, the freedoms they were trying to protest for, that thousands of them were killed for, what would you say to that?

VINDMAN: There's nothing more that I'd love than the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow this horrendous regime, which, again, has been a destabilizing force across the Middle East and across the world. But what I am not seeing is a plan for that to happen. And I didn't see the case made for why it was necessary that we strike now.

So this president, the list of his military conflicts now is literally an arm long. You've had two strikes in Iran of significant nature, this one being a war obviously. Nigeria, Yemen, Venezuela, the Caribbean. This president is more than happy to put American blood and treasure on the line. In fact he said yesterday, the lives of courageous Americans may be sacrificed. Well, he seems too willing to make that sacrifice that the service members and their families will bear and one that he was never himself willing to make.

DEAN: All right, Congressman Vindman, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate your time.

VINDMAN: Thank you for having me.

DEAN: Thank you.

And stay with CNN. Our breaking news coverage continues after we take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:21:18]

DEAN: What you're listening to are cheers and celebration coming out of Iran, this is in Tehran, once the news began to spread that Iran's supreme leader had been killed in these strikes that were done by the U.S. and Israel.

I want to bring in CNN international correspondent Jomana Karadsheh. She's joining us now more -- with more from London on this kind of incredible to see that video and listen to that play out.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's absolutely incredible seeing these scenes, Jessica, and it's incredible bravery as well. If you can imagine, you know, the crackdown of the Iranian regime on dissent, on protests. The regime is not gone with the reports that we're hearing from Israeli officials that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed. That doesn't mean the end of the regime.

I've been hearing from Iranians who managed to somehow get in touch with family members today despite the communications disruptions, the communication blackout throughout the day, they were hearing from their relatives that Iranian plainclothes security personnel were still out on the streets. And so you see this and we're hearing reports, I've heard from Iranians as well, who've heard from their family members this evening that these celebrations are going on in a number of cities, as we've seen there in this video from Tehran.

You hear the whistling, you hear the cheering. People usually do this out of their balconies from inside their homes. And what you hear there is, you know, they're saying death to the Islamic Republic, long live the Shah. I mean, really remarkable bravery by the Iranian people.

And, you know, Jessica, over the past few weeks, as I've been covering the ongoing crackdown after the Iranian regime killed thousands of people in a matter of days in January during the protests, I've been speaking to families of protesters who were killed, to medical professionals, doctors who have been, you know, who have dealt with unimaginable scenes during what Iranians describe as that massacre on January 8th and 9th.

And throughout this, I've been hearing from them saying that President Trump, the United States, promised that help is on the way, and so many Iranians who are opposed to this regime, who want nothing more than to see the end of this regime, have been holding on to the hope that that help was coming. And that drove a lot of Iranians out on the streets. And then that help never came and we saw that unbelievable casualty figures, you know, thousands.

And then you have tens of thousands who have been, you know, they've been detained by the regime, and so much concern about them. And throughout this, Jessica, what I have been hearing from the families of protesters saying, what country do you know people who ask for the intervention of another country, who want their own country to be bombed? And, you know, the parent of one protester telling me that is how desperate they are because they say they can't do it on their own.

Again, this is not the end of the regime. Very difficult days are ahead for the Iranian people. But certainly there are many Iranians who are celebrating right now even though they're taking a huge risk doing so.

DEAN: Certainly. And in this -- in this pivotal moment.

Jomana, thank you so much for your reporting. We really appreciate it.

And joining us now is CNN's senior political and global affairs commentator, Rahm Emanuel.

[16:25:01]

Rahm, great to have you here with us.

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: I first just want to get your thoughts on this, as Jeremy Diamond calls it, really an earthquake in the Middle East. And as Jomana just laid out, it doesn't necessarily mean the end of the regime for many reasons that we have gone through, but it is still a significant moment.

EMANUEL: Yes. I start from a slight different position, which is over the 47 years of the regime, you've had a theocracy where the IRGC has supported the theocracy. About a year ago, you had the IRGC as the head of the government and the theocracy in support of the IRGC. They flipped their roles. And that's what's happening here.

Now, look, Israel took out the head of Hezbollah. They've taken out the head of Hamas. Neither one of those have basically been destroyed or eliminated as a threat. As you can see, the way Israel is operating. And there's going to be a big depth here now Israel eliminating the ayatollah, eliminating major elements of the military and security apparatus, will change but it gets down to the fundamental question you have to pose to the Iranian people.

You can take the road of impoverishment further and isolation further, or you can take the road of economic improvement and integration. And only the Iranian people can change the regime. It cannot be changed from 25,000 feet in the air. This is a window and we'll see. But it has major consequences going down the road.

DEAN: And I want to talk about what it might mean more broadly for the Middle East but just staying with the Iranian people for a second. What do you think the U.S. should or could do to support them? You know, I've talked to other military experts who say, look, they're not armed. They're not organized. This isn't Libya, for example. But how do the Iranian people, how should we expect them to do this?

EMANUEL: Well, in a certain sense, let me just say this, which is America's record in the Middle East is zero for three on regime change successfully. You got Libya, you got Iraq, you can go back to Lebanon in 1980 -- in the early '80s, none of it has worked out. And the United States can't do it. I mean, as earlier reported, I made also this comment earlier today, which is what the United States, and I've never seen a situation where the outside world is, say, caution, hold on.

You know, you should actually start to negotiate. Inside the country, the youth at least, and also the business class has said, please bomb us so we can get a regime change. It's a role reversal than you've ever seen historically anywhere else in the world.

The second piece is, it does tell you how desperate the country is for something different, and that offering economic improvement, offering integration, because that is the history of the Persian culture versus continued economic impoverishment versus economic international isolation. That is not the road or the opportunities that the Iranian people want, and they want to change with that. But it cannot be done from outside.

And the second thing on the security front, you need boots on the ground to ensure that there's no nuclear attempt by the Iranian people. That's why you need the International Atomic Agency. You need boots on the ground to ensure anything you want on the ballistic or the proxy war effort. That is why there's a miss always. You cannot achieve this on military alone. You need a political component and political capacity to back up the military. And that has not been done. The third option --

DEAN: And to -- go ahead. Sorry.

EMANUEL: Sorry. Go ahead.

DEAN: No, please go ahead.

EMANUEL: No, no, no. The third option is what you do post the military from a political construct. And that piece has never been explained. And I also think one repercussion in the region, Jessica, to the core of the question, never in the history of Israel has Israel ever said to the United States, fight our wars for us. That has been an absolute no go. Israel and the United States have partnered on the Olympic Games covert. This is the first time you've had a pilot and copilot effort.

And the repercussions and the aftershocks of this in the region of the United States and Israel overtly military working together for both countries will have implications that will go on for years from now. This won't end here. This is a different day, which has never happened in Israel's security. No prime minister has said we will jointly work for the United States, or the United States will be part of Israel's security umbrella in the way of joint military action. This is a new day.

DEAN: Yes, that was the thing I did want to ask you about and I'm glad you answered it.

All right. Rahm Emanuel, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

EMANUEL: Well, I have a question. I'll just give you -- does anybody have questions for the answers?

DEAN: That's right. It's great. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

EMANUEL: Thank you.

DEAN: And stay with CNN. Our breaking news coverage of the U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran and the reported death of Iran's supreme leader, according to Israeli sources, continues after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:34:19]

DEAN: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage. We continue to monitor the wave of Iranian missile strikes on Israel, as well as U.S. assets there in the Middle East. As many as seven countries have been targeted by Iran, including Bahrain, where an area close to a U.S. Naval base took a direct hit. That's what you're looking at right there. Other U.S. Bases in Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are also on high alert.

Retired Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster is joining us now. He served as national security advisor in the first Trump administration. Thank you so much for being here with us. It's great to have you and to have some analysis from you on all of this.

I just first want to get your thoughts. Since we went on the air two hours ago, a lot has happened. We now know, based on Israeli sources, that the supreme leader is dead there in those strikes this morning, those strikes that were conducted jointly by the U.S. and Israel. What is your initial reaction to the scope of these strikes, the effectiveness of this, and where this might be going now?

[16:35:17]

LT. GEN. H.R. MCMASTER (RET), U.S. ARMY: Well, Jessica, my reaction is that this is, you know, a great day for the Iranian people and the people in the region, as well as the United States. And the reason is, you know, the Iranian regime has been able to really act with impunity for decades. I mean, they've been essentially fighting a 47-year-long proxy war against, you know, the Great Satan, us. You know, what call -- what they call the cancerous boil Israel.

And they've engaged in so much brutality and violence in the region. You know, they have so much blood on their hands. They're perpetuating the Syrian civil war and supporting the murderous Assad regime, the militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, you know, the whole ring of fire from Hezbollah to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad with Israel.

I mean, hey, enough. Right? And I think what happened here, Jessica, is really important. And what Rahm Emanuel said is that it is a new era. It's a new era because I think that the regime confused our reluctance to go after it for so long until, you know, the 12-day Israeli campaign and Operation Midnight Hammer last year as a sense of -- indication of our unwillingness to do so. And so, what happened is Ayatollah Khamenei drove past every off-ramp that President Trump gave him, and --

DEAN: I think -- we're waiting to see if we can get Mr. McMa -- Lieutenant General McMaster. There he is. He's back. Go ahead. Please, continue your thought.

MCMASTER: No. So, I think that that's what's really significant here is that -- is that we have acted directly against the regime, and this does create an opportunity for a change in the nature of the government in Iran, such that it ceases its permanent hostility, you know, to the United States, Israel, and its Arab neighbors. I -- the early indicators, Jessica, are that it has been very successful in terms of the limited ability for Iran so far to conduct a response -- an attack in response. And you've shown, you know, that hey, seven countries --- different countries were hit with this response.

But it's a far less number of missiles than anticipated. I think one of the reasons is there are some very successful initial strikes against their counter-strike capabilities, especially the solid-fuel missiles. They had a solid-fuel missile constraint before this. The Chinese and others were helping them build up their missile capability. This is why I think it was important to strike in this window before they could reconstitute those missiles.

Now, they're left with mostly liquid-fuel missiles. They have to refuel those. Those can be identified and struck from the air. You saw that there were very successful strikes also against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy. That could be what they could use to put mines in the straits of Hormuz to conduct, you know, missile attacks against ships and so forth. Drone attacks.

So, I think, you know, so far it's been extraordinarily successful, Jessica. And again, I think the biggest shift here is the way that this campaign communicates to what's left of the Iranian regime. And the Iranian people that were no longer going to -- go into this narrative of restraint and de-escalation, which for so many years, Jessica, was really just giving Iran the ability to escalate on its own terms with impunity.

DEAN: And in talking about what comes next, we've had a number of experts here, and they talk about the Revolutionary Guard, the militia. What faces the Iranian people should they rise up and try to take their government back?

MCMASTER: Yes.

DEAN: And certainly, we saw them trying to do that. Thousands of people killed in the street, trying -- you know, bravely protesting their government. But I'm curious what you think about that and what role you think the military might play in terms of just how do they actually do that when it is set up differently? There is the -- you know, the military apparatus still intact.

MCMASTER: Yes. Well, I think, Jessica, there would be an opportunity maybe, to conduct, you know, strikes in support of the people who are being repressed by going after the repressive arms of the regime. But as you know, they're intermingled with the population. Your correspondent called them security personnel. Hey, they're thugs, you know.

And what they -- what they essentially have been doing in the college campuses -- remember just in recent days, there were -- there were protests in well over 20 up to 30 college campuses around the country. Over 20 of them in Tehran. And what you saw in response is to besiege kind of these brownshirts would come in, in -- you know, in ambulances and come out with sticks and start beating people.

[16:40:08]

And so, I think that, you know, what these strikes have done in part, and I think this was probably an objective for the Trump administration, was to restore deterrence. So you don't see another mass atrocity like we saw with the mass murder of over 30,000 Iranians in a 48-hour period, you know. So, I think restoring deterrence against the repressive arms of the regime, fragmenting the regime. I think it's likely, Jessica, that they -- that they -- that 40 or so leaders within the Islamic Revolutionary Guards corps and in the government were killed in the -- in the opening strikes in this campaign. That's going to fragment the government and security forces for a time. If those fissures can be permanent, and there can be a division.

You mentioned the size of the army, much of that army is -- you know, is the conventional army not part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards corps. That's another possibility, right, for an end of this theocratic dictatorship, is that some elements of the security forces join with the people. And, of course, these are -- these are all the -- you know, all the possibilities we have to watch closely in the coming days and weeks.

DEAN: All right. Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, we really appreciate it. Thank you so much for your time.

MCMASTER: Jessica, thanks for the opportunity to be with you.

DEAN: Great to have you. I do want to let everyone know we are hearing from President Trump. He has posted on Truth Social confirming that Khamenei, one of the -- I'm reading from his Truth Social here.

Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead. This is not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all great Americans and those from many countries throughout the world that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty thugs. He was unable to avoid our intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems, and working closely with Israel. There was not a thing he or the other leaders that have been killed along with him could do.

He says, this is the great -- single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country. We are hearing that many of their IRGC military and other security and police forces no longer want to fight, and they're looking for immunity from us. As I said last night, now they can have immunity later. They only get death. Hopefully, the IRGC and police will peacefully merge with the Iranian patriots and work together as a unit to bring the country to the greatness it deserves.

He goes on to say that process should be starting in -- that should soon be starting and that only in the death of Khamenei. But the country has been in only one day very much destroyed. And even, he says, obliterated. The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary to achieve our objective of peace throughout the Middle East and indeed the world.

Again President Trump confirming that Iran's supreme leader has been killed in these strikes that the U.S. took on jointly with the nation of Israel. He also goes on to say, in terms of a timeline, that the heavy and pinpoint bombing will continue uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary, he says, to achieve his objectives. Encouraging the Iranian people to rise up, and members of the revolutionary guard to surrender and join with them. We have much more on the other side of this break. We have more breaking news coverage when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:48:05]

DEAN: We continue to cover our breaking news this afternoon as President Donald Trump now confirming Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the U.S. and Israel's joint military strikes on Iran earlier today. Iranian state media saying at least 200 others have died. Hundreds more have been injured. Local officials saying at least 85 of those deaths are from a strike on a girls' school in southern Iran. Dozens more there have been injured.

I do want to bring in CNN Chief National Security Analyst Jim Sciutto. Jim, in addition to the ayatollah, we know a number of other officials were killed in that strike, as well. As you and I have talked out through -- talked about throughout the afternoon, this doesn't mean the end of the regime immediately. But help put into context for people what it could mean and what it does mean for Iran right now.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's a major wound, of course, to the regime at multiple levels, at the senior level, right up to the supreme leader. But there are other levels that remain, and there are others who could then slide into those positions. Do they have the same power? Does the regime together have the same strength and wherewithal to remain in power, to exercise power inside its country around the region? Those are open questions.

And also, what would the U.S. be willing to accept, right? If this does not topple the regime, if the people don't rise up and do it themselves, would the U.S., for instance, be willing to accept someone from inside the regime? Ali -- what we saw in Venezuela, right?

You remove Nicolas Maduro, and Delcy Rodriguez moves in. There's no quite -- no Delcy Rodriguez equivalent in Iran. But what would the U.S. and crucially, what would Israel be willing to accept if that's the outcome? We just don't know the answers to those questions yet. I will say this, and I think it's important now that we have the president confirming Ali Khamenei's killing in this, the supreme leader, that folks at home understand what his leadership was for Iran, but also for the region.

[15:50:03]

For the region, just first. Iran, during those 36 years he was in power, they propped up and supported Hezbollah, which, of course, carried out attacks against Israel repeatedly. And held enormous power inside Lebanon. It backed up the awful Assad regime in Syria before it fell, which carried out years and years of crimes against its own people. Bloody crackdown.

Of course, it backed Hamas, which has attacked Israel repeatedly, most notably on October 7. It backs the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has been disrupting shipping in the Red Sea. But specifically from a U.S. perspective, during his reign, he -- it was Iran that was supplying those very powerful IEDs with the shaped charges that were able to penetrate the armor of U.S. military officials -- vehicles in Iraq that caused so many casualties there. So many deaths and so many wounds that American service members are still living with.

So, this is a leader who had tremendous power and impact around the region and against U.S. interests. And finally, I would just say, against his own people. Multiple bloody crackdowns against the Iranian people. That's what his leadership was for the country and for the region.

DEAN: Jim Sciutto, as always, it is good to have you to put that in context. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

And stay with CNN. Our breaking news coverage continues after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:56:10]

DEAN: President Trump, now confirming Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed by U.S. and Israeli forces in a strike this morning. Iranians across the globe paying very close attention to what happens next. A lot of questions around that.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is joining us from Los Angeles, home to one of the largest Iranian populations outside of the Middle East. You see the gathering there behind her. Julia, how is the Iranian community responding?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this gathering has only grown, Jessica, over the past few hours -- excuse me, since we've gotten here. It has amassed a large number of people. And the celebration is striking.

We got here just moments after initial reports -- initial rumors of the death of Ayatollah Khamenei had just started to trickle from Iran to this diaspora community. And people were jumping in excitement, hugging each other, crying, saying that basically, they've been waiting 47 years for this very day, Jessica. It is the reason so many of them have come out here today. I want you to hear from one of them, specifically his thoughts right after learning that the supreme leader of Iran was dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE KAZEROUNI, IRANIAN-AMERICAN WELCOMING STRIKES IN IRAN: When is the last time you saw people in Israel and Iran dancing on the streets in excitement? And when is the last time you've ever heard of a country coming out and dancing because they're excited that foreign powers are attacking them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now, the name of Reza Pahlavi has been at the tip of people's tongues here, Jessica. So, these are very much people who are pro- shot. They want to see a leadership emerge from Reza Pahlavi. They're calling for him to take over the reins. And their hope, they've told me, is that he would then lead a temporary government and hold elections in Iran, hold a referendum in Iran, so that the people could decide what would come next for their nation.

DEAN: Yes. And so many Iranian people hoping for a regime change and that they can take back their government. A lot of questions about how that will happen, if it can happen. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. Thanks for that reporting.

And thank you so much for joining me this evening. We have had a historic day here as again, the ayatollah, the supreme leader of Iran dead, along with a number of other top Iranian officials in U.S.- Israeli airstrikes this morning. There are still many questions about what comes next.

An incredible military buildup by the U.S. there in the Middle East, as we have seen retaliatory strikes across the Middle East as well. Both in Israel, in Doha, in Dubai as well. So, we will continue to monitor the skies.

Jake Tapper is going to pick up our breaking news next. Again, thanks so much for joining me. I appreciate it.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to this special edition of THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. And we are following major breaking news. Just moments ago, President Trump announcing officially that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, killed in the massive U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The president writing, "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead. This is not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all great Americans and those people from many countries throughout the world that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty thugs."

Barak Ravid, the journalist of Axios, who is also a CNN analyst, reporting a short while ago that the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Council, Ali Larijani, now seems to be running Iran -- running the country.