Why Ayatollah Khamenei Didn’t Hide Underground Despite Life Threats From Israel And USA? What Transpired On The Day Of His Death?

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, 2026, by Israel after the latter dropped over 30 bombs on his presidential compound in the wake of a joint operation with the USA, titled “Epic Fury.”

The death of Khamenei – the 86-year-old leader of Iran and the world’s highest-ranking cleric of the Shia faith – invited a mix of intense reactions globally.

While the West, joined by the predominantly Sunni Muslim-majority Gulf nations, hailed his departure, communities across the world also erupted in grief over his death.

Khamenei, who often talked about shahadat (martyrdom) and the possibility of assassination, did something quite ‘incomprehensible’ during the latest Israel-US airstrikes.

The 86-year-old leader chose not to go underground, even in the wake of a very high possibility of an Israeli-US attack.

This comes amid recent revelations by Israel that the operation which killed Khamenei was a result of years of efforts involving hacking into Tehran’s traffic cameras, mapping the routes of his security details, and location positioning using cell signals.

Khamenei Had Refused To Go Into Hiding

According to the latest reports, the Iranian leader had an option of remaining underground in the wake of the Israeli threat; however, he refused to do so.

Unlike Hasan Nasrallah – the Hezbollah leader of Lebanon, who mostly remained in underground bunkers before being killed in 2024 – Khamenei remained visible and over ground for the majority of his time in office.

Previously, on different occasions, Khamenei had joked about being assassinated and always seemed to have already known his fate as a martyr. Many times, he had described his life as inconsequential to the survival of the Islamic Republic.

Had Used Bunkers Previously, Not This Time

While Khamenei had previously taken precautions during wartime, he didn’t go to one of his two bunkers this time, a Financial Times report stated, quoting a source. He chose to remain overground, the source said, adding that he could have been alive if he had been underground.

How Khamenei Was Killed

Khamenei was killed on Sunday in precision strikes by Israeli jets when he was attending a high-level security meeting at his office compound. Israel on Tuesday claimed that its intelligence agencies planned the attack for years.