According to the sources, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman repeatedly called Trump privately over the past month, urging him to
strike Iran despite publicly backing diplomatic negotiations. At the same time,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued a public campaign calling
on the United States to strike what he described as his country’s “existential
enemy.”
The coordinated pressure led Trump to authorize a
large-scale air operation against Iran’s leadership and military. In the first
hours of the operation, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several
senior Iranian officials and commanders were killed.
The strike took place despite U.S. intelligence assessments
that Iranian forces were unlikely to pose a direct threat to the United States
over the next decade, the newspaper reported.
However, according to the sources, the Saudi crown prince
warned U.S. officials during talks that Iran would become stronger and more
dangerous if Washington did not strike now.
The crown prince’s position was backed by his brother,
Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman. In January, he held closed-door talks with
U.S. officials in Washington and warned of possible negative consequences if
Washington declined to strike, according to WP’s sources.
As the sources noted, the Saudi leader’s cautious public
stance was driven by concerns about a possible Iranian response targeting the
kingdom’s oil infrastructure, as Riyadh views Tehran as its main regional
rival.
Iranian state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei was killed on the morning of Feb. 28 in Israeli and U.S. strikes.
The death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander
Mohammad Pakpour was also confirmed. According to the IRNA news agency, Ali
Shamkhani, the supreme leader’s chief security adviser, was also killed in the
attack.
On Feb. 28, 2026, Israel and the United States announced
strikes on Iran — operations called “Lion’s Roar” by Israel and “Epic Fury” by
the United States.
Multiple explosions were reported in Tehran and several
other major Iranian cities. Reports said the attacks targeted the residences of
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, as well as Iranian
military and nuclear facilities.
Satellite images showed that Khamenei’s palace was
completely destroyed.