Iranian state media on Sunday confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the US and Israel strikes.
Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency reported the 86-year-old’s death, without elaborating on a cause.Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, says the Iranian nation will make the United States and Israel regret their aggression against the country.People hold Iranian flags during a rally in the capital, Tehran, to protest the US-Israeli aggression against the country. Tehran, IRNA – People in different Iranian cities have held spontaneous gatherings to vent their anger at the ongoing war of aggression by the United States and Israel against their country.
Crowds of people filled the streets and iconic squares in at least a dozen cities, including the capital Tehran. Protesters chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” in a show of anger at the two regimes over their aggression on Iran.
“We will make the Zionist criminals and the despicable Americans regret their actions. The valiant soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the tyrannical international devils,” Larijani said on his X account on Saturday.Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi has welcomed US and Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying the moment could mark a turning point in Iran’s long struggle against the Islamic Republic.
Writing in an op-ed for The Washington Post, Pahlavi thanked President Donald Trump for supporting the Iranian people and said the final outcome will depend on Iranians themselves.
“Even with U.S. and Israeli assistance, the final victory will be forged by the Iranian people,” he wrote, arguing that a democratic Iran could transform the Middle East.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump and Israeli officials had claimed that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, which Iran had denied, saying he was steadfast and well.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that there were signs that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in an attack on his compound as part of US-Israeli strikes.
“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 in a televised statement.
President Donald Trump said Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in massive US and Israeli attack, which Trump said will continue with heavy bombing throughout the week. Iran has claimed its leaders are “safe and sound.”
There was no immediate Iranian confirmation of his fate. The United States and Israel carried out military strikes on Iran on Saturday, targeting its top leaders and plunging the Middle East into a conflict that President Donald Trump said would end a security threat to the US and give Iranians a chance to topple their rulers.
The US president has told ABC News that he believes “a lot” of Iranian leadership has been killed in US and Israeli strikes.
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When asked directly if the administration believes that Iranian leadership were killed, Trump replied: “A lot of it is, yeah. But we don’t know all, but a lot of it is. Was a very powerful strike.”
He said the attacks will continue “as long as we wanted to”Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were killed in US-Israeli strikes, Iranian state media reported on Sunday..Effie Defrin, the spokesperson for the Israeli military, has just made a televised address in which he claimed Israel has killed several top Iranian officials in attacks on Iran.
The most prominent of those Israel claims to have killed is Ali Shamkhani, former secretary of Iran’s National Security Council and close adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei.
Defrin also claimed to have killed Mohammad Pakpour, a commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Amir Nasirzadeh, Iran’s defence minister.
He added that Israeli warplanes targeted several locations across Iran, especially missile launcher sites.
Defrin did not define a timeframe when a reporter asked how long military operations would continue.US President Donald Trump said that “the people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone.”
Trump has offered his clearest statement yet on the reported killing of Khamenei, which, as we’ve been reporting, has been claimed by Reuters and the Israeli media, citing unnamed sources.
Addressing the reports that Khamenei was killed, Trump told NBC News: “We feel that that is a correct story”.
Trump further said that “most” of Iran’s senior leadership is “gone”.
“The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone,” he said.Khamenei, 86, became Iran’s highest authority in 1989, following the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini. As supreme leader, he held ultimate control over Iran’s political, military and religious institutions, shaping domestic policy and guiding foreign relations.
Iran has launched missile attack against Israel after a “major combat operation” was commenced by the US and Israel on Saturday, pushing the Middle East into a renewed military confrontation and further dimming hopes for a diplomatic solution to Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West.
According to reports, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones, which triggered air raid sirens across Israel under operation “Fateh Khyber”.
The attack reportedly targeted northern Israel, including the area of Hafizah, where explosions were heard. The capital, Tel Aviv, also experienced blasts, indicating the scale of the Iranian counter strikes.
Iranian military officials confirmed the launch of numerous missiles and drones, which have struck key locations in Israel.
