Feb 28 (Reuters) – Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed on Saturday, state media confirmed, after the United States and Israel launched the most ambitious attack against Iranian targets in decades.
A senior Israeli official had told Reuters previously that the body of the Iranian leader had been found after the attack, and U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the United States had worked closely with Israel to strike the man who has led Iran since 1989.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that the strikes had killed Khamenei and urged Iranians to “take to the streets and finish the job.”
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There were many signs indicating that Khamenei “is no longer alive,” Netanyahu said.
He stated that Khamenei’s complex was destroyed, as were Revolutionary Guard commanders and senior officials of the nuclear program.
Iranian media reported that Khamenei’s son-in-law and daughter-in-law were killed in the attacks.
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Subsequently, Iranian state media cited a source close to Khamenei’s office saying: “I can state with confidence that the leader of the revolution is firm and unwavering in command of the situation.”
Iran described the attacks as unprovoked and illegal and responded with missiles fired at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states hosting American bases.
The U.S. President Donald Trump, who made the biggest foreign policy bet of his presidency after presenting himself as a “president of peace” in his reelection campaign, said the strikes were aimed at ending the threat from a country that has threatened the United States for decades and ensuring that Iran could not develop a nuclear weapon.
Trump urged Iranian security forces to lay down their arms and invited Iranians to topple their government as soon as the bombardment ended.
In a video posted overnight on social media, he also warned that there could be American casualties, although a few hours later the U.S. Department of Defense said it had no reports of American deaths or injuries.
Also read: Ali Khamenei, the relentless ayatollah who endured sanctions, wars and protests in Iran
Who was Khamenei?
Khamenei succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 and, since then, has weathered sanctions, proxy conflicts and successive waves of internal protests crushed with violence — including the 2022-2023 protests against the mandatory veil for women. At 86, he had already been the subject of succession speculation, a theme that now enters the Iranian political scene at the center of the stage.
A veteran of the war against Iraq (1980-1988), Khamenei had not traveled abroad since taking office 36 years ago. In 1981, he survived an assassination attempt that left his right arm paralyzed. Since then, any travel has been shrouded in secrecy and a heavy security apparatus.
