Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been killed, senior Israeli official says
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes, a senior Israeli official said on Saturday.
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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said that there were signs that Khamenei was killed in an attack on his compound as part of US-Israeli strikes.
“This morning, in a powerful surprise strike, the compound of the tyrant Ali Khamenei was destroyed in the heart of Tehran,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
“For more than three and a half decades, this cruel tyrant has spread terror across the world while oppressing his own people, while working tirelessly and without pause on a plan to destroy Israel,” he added.
“That plan is no more – and there are many signs that this tyrant is no longer alive,” Netanyahu said.
Two Israeli television networks reported that Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
“Ali Khamenei is dead,” reported public broadcaster Kan on its X account.
Israel’s Channel 12, citing a source, said: “Khamenei is dead.”
The US believes Khamenei and five to 10 top Iranian leaders were killed in an initial Israeli strike, a Fox News reporter said, citing a US official.
During the televised address, Netanyahu also said that the “decisive” US-Israeli operation would last “as long as necessary.”
“This morning we eliminated senior figures in the ayatollahs’ regime – commanders in the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and senior officials in the nuclear program – and we will continue,” Netanyahu said.
“In the coming days, we will strike thousands of targets of the terror regime,” he added.
Khamenei, Iran’s leader since 1989
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.
Israel long saw him as a destabilizing force in the Middle East, citing his backing for Iran’s network of militant allies, including Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
When Israel and Iran fought a 12-day air war in June 2025, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to assassinate him, saying the supreme leader “cannot continue to exist.”
That war saw Israel launch a surprise strike that struck Iran’s underground nuclear site, killed senior commanders and nuclear scientists, and wiped out much of the military leadership. Khamenei’s killing, if confirmed, would deal another blow to a country already reeling from war and economic hardship.
Khamenei upheld the conservative vision of his predecessor, Khomeini, quashing the ambitions of elected presidents who sought more open policies at home and abroad. Under his rule, authorities crushed repeated protests and sidelined reformists pushing for less confrontation with the West.
Iran became a regional anti-US force under Khamenei, extending its influence across the Middle East. He backed the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which briefly eased Iran’s isolation. But tensions spiked after US President Donald Trump abandoned the accord in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.
Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Iran has seen its allies weakened. Hamas and Hezbollah suffered heavy blows from Israel, while Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, long propped up by Tehran, was toppled in December 2024.
The post of Supreme Leader was created after the 1979 revolution and enshrined in Iran’s constitution, giving a top cleric ultimate authority over the president and parliament. The Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body vetted by a hardline watchdog aligned with Khamenei, formally selects the leader.
