Before the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, there was a paramount tension between the US and Iran as the US fortified its military bases in the Gulf and increased the number of military armadas in the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. Many believed that the war between the US and Iran was imminent over the nuclear enrichment issue. Many military leaders tried Khamenei for hiding in a secure bunker. But he said, “If 90 million Iranians can go to the underground bunker, then I will go!” This was Khamenei’s unwavering decision on the eve of his death, and the story of the Foreign Minister’s miraculous survival.
On the morning of February 28, 2026, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike. In an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen television, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described every second of that thrilling morning. At that time, there was extreme tension due to war and a strong fear of attack. However, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei categorically refused to take refuge in a secure underground bunker or shelter. He said in a firm voice, “If 90 million Iranians can go to the bunker and be safe, then only will I go to the bunker, not before.” He decided to stay in his office.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said that he had finished the nuclear talks in Geneva and returned to Tehran at night. The next day, at around 9 am, he went straight to the Supreme Leader’s office to submit a very important report. His main objective was to make it clear to Khamenei that the situation had reached a critical, dangerous point, and that war with the enemy was now inevitable. In February 2026, Iran faced unprecedented military assaults by Israel and the United States against nuclear and missile facilities, including attacks on Khamenei’s head office, nuclear enrichment sites at Natanz and Fordow and military facilities in Isfahan. It was then that Araghchi was waiting in a side room of the office. Just then, at 9:40 am, a series of powerful missiles hit the entire compound, paralysing it.
In an instant, a large part of the building collapsed. The strikes were accompanied by the simultaneous killing of nearly 30 senior IRGC commanders and figures tied to Iran’s nuclear programme. Araghchi was buried under the dust and rubble. But miraculously, the part he was in was not destroyed, and he was able to emerge from the rubble unharmed. Araghchi, after surviving and emerging from the rubble, had only one thought in his mind, “Have the enemies targeted the Supreme Leader?” Is he alive?” The situation was so foggy that he went straight to the Foreign Ministry without getting any accurate information from there. And there, through an official intelligence report, he received the heart-wrenching news. His beloved Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was no longer alive; he had been martyred.
This was how Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime ended. He fought against the Shah regime in the 1980s and defined the Islamic Republic of Iran through hard work, passion and devotion for the well-being of the masses. His altruistic values had won the hearts of Iranians, which he demonstrated through his last breath.
The last decision of Khamenei defines him with a difference between an ordinary head of state and a leader who conquers the hearts of the people. Khamenei was not just buried; he will remain among the hearts of people forever in his words: “Leader not only ran the country, but also ruled the hearts of the people.”
The writer is a journalist and columist
