When targeted by nationwide protests early this year, Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of his nearly four decades in power. But now a US or Israeli military strike has ended his rule. Iran’s state TV confirmed Khamenei’s death on Sunday, a day after after US President Donald Trump said the…
After US and Israeli missiles struck Iran’s nuclear sites in June 2025, Tehran responded with a limited attack on the American airbase in Qatar. Five years before that, a US drone strike against Qasem Soleimani, head of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, was followed by an attack on two American bases in…
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years, has been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on his country, according to US President Donald Trump. Iran did not immediately confirm his death. As one of Iran’s longest-serving leaders, Khamenei has been almost as ubiquitous in Iranian society as his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who…
Brett OkamotoFeb 27, 2026, 11:36 PM ET Close Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather,…
After the largest buildup of U.S. warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades, American and Israeli military forces launched a massive assault on Iran on February 28, 2026. President Donald Trump, after calling the attacks “major combat operations” urging regime change in Tehran, announced Saturday afternoon that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,…
It followed with strikes targeting US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the capital of the United Arab Emirates killed one person, state media said. The UAE and Iraq shut down their airspace. Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a defiant statement, saying that the country “will not hesitate”…
Note on Middle East Markets: The promise of prediction markets is to harness the wisdom of the crowd to create accurate, unbiased forecasts for the most important events to society. That ability is particularly invaluable in gut-wrenching times like today. After discussing with those directly affected by the attacks, who had dozens of questions, we…
