Iranian state media have confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed during joint United States and Israeli air attacks on Iran.
Iranian authorities had earlier dismissed the claims after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Khamenei had been killed in the attacks.
Netanyahu said on Saturday there were “growing signs” that Khamenei died in the coordinated strikes launched earlier in the day against multiple targets across Iran.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead.”
The claims were reinforced by a report from Reuters, which quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying Khamenei’s body had been located.
However, Iranian media outlets, including Tasnim News Agency and Mehr News Agency, reported that the supreme leader remained “steadfast and firm in commanding the field”.
In what appeared to be a direct rebuttal, the head of public relations at Khamenei’s office accused Iran’s adversaries of waging “mental warfare”.
However, the state media confirmed the leader’s death on Sunday, adding that the country would enter 40 days of mourning.
Reports said members of Khamenei’s family, including his daughter, son-in-law and grandson, were also killed in the attacks.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has vowed to revenge, announcing strikes on 27 bases hosting US troops across the Middle East and on Israeli military facilities in Tel Aviv.
Explosions were also reported in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as the confrontation intensified.
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Casualties Mount as Strikes Hit Multiple Provinces
Citing the Red Crescent, Iranian media said Saturday’s strikes targeted 24 provinces and left at least 201 people dead.
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Tehran responded with waves of counterattacks, launching strikes at Israeli and US military assets across the Middle East, further escalating tensions in the region.
Netanyahu said the offensive had eliminated several “senior figures” in Iran’s leadership structure and signalled that operations would continue.
“We have killed commanders in the Revolutionary Guard and senior officials in the nuclear programme. And we will continue,” he said, while also echoing calls from Washington for the Iranian government to be toppled.
Khamenei has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, succeeding the founder of the post-shah Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who steered Iran’s 1979 revolution.
The supreme leader has ultimate authority over all branches of government, the military, and the judiciary, in addition to serving as the country’s spiritual leader.
Rafiyat Sadiq is a political, justice, and human rights reporter with Pinnacle Daily, known for fearless reporting and impactful storytelling. At Pinnacle Daily, she brings clarity and depth to issues shaping governance, democracy, and the protection of citizens’ rights.
