Jerusalem / Tehran / Washington: Israel has claimed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a strike on his compound in central Tehran, a claim swiftly denied by Iranian authorities as conflicting reports emerged from international media outlets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address that Israeli forces carried out a “powerful surprise strike” targeting Khamenei’s compound in the Iranian capital.
“This morning, in a powerful surprise strike, the compound of Ali Khamenei was destroyed in the heart of Tehran … and there are many signs that he is no longer alive,” Netanyahu said.
Iran has not issued an official statement confirming Khamenei’s death. However, the country’s semi-official Tasnim and Mehr news agencies reported that the 86-year-old leader remains alive and is “steadfast and firm in commanding the field,” directly rejecting claims of his killing.
Reuters has clarified that it did not publish any report confirming Khamenei’s death, after claims circulated online attributing such reporting to the news agency. In contrast, Fox News reported that Khamenei had been killed, citing its own sources.
Trump: ‘Most’ Iranian Decision-Makers Gone
US President Donald Trump told ABC News that he believed a significant portion of Iran’s senior leadership had been eliminated in the strikes carried out by the United States and Israel.
“A lot of it is, yeah. But we don’t know all, but a lot of it is. It was a very powerful strike,” Trump said.
In remarks to NBC News, Trump added: “The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone,” and said military operations would continue “as long as we wanted to.”
Israel Claims Senior Iranian Officials Killed
Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin said several high-ranking Iranian officials were killed in the attacks. He named Ali Shamkhani, former secretary of Iran’s National Security Council and a close adviser to Khamenei; Mohammad Pakpour, a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); and Defence Minister Amir Nasirzadeh.
Defrin said Israeli warplanes targeted multiple locations across Iran, particularly missile launcher sites. He did not specify how long the operations would continue.
Iran Launches Missile and Drone Strikes
In response to the US-Israeli strikes, Iran launched what it described as a “major combat operation,” firing ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel under the name “Operation Fateh Khyber.”
US and Israel launch strikes on Iran as Trump announces ‘major combat operations’
Air raid sirens sounded across northern Israel, and explosions were reported in areas including Tel Aviv, indicating the scale of the retaliatory attack. Iranian military officials confirmed that numerous missiles and drones were launched at Israeli targets.
Khamenei, who became Iran’s supreme leader in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, holds ultimate authority over Iran’s political, military and religious institutions. As of publication, there is no independent confirmation of his reported death.
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