Khamenei confirmed dead after US, Israel strikes —report

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been confirmed dead and his body has been found, a senior Israeli official told Reuters early Sunday, following large-scale Israeli-US strikes on Iranian targets.

There was no immediate confirmation from Iranian authorities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that Israeli forces had destroyed Khamenei’s compound and killed senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as well as key figures in Iran’s nuclear program.

“There are many signs that this tyrant is no longer,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, stopping short at the time of explicitly confirming Khamenei’s death.

He added that Israel would continue operations against what he called the “terror regime” and urged Iranians to “flood the streets and finish the job.”

Iranian state media, however, cited the head of public relations at the supreme leader’s office as saying “the enemy is resorting to mental warfare,” without addressing the reports directly.

The reported death of Khamenei, 86, would mark a seismic moment for the Islamic Republic, which he has led since 1989.

As Supreme Leader, he held ultimate authority over the government, judiciary and armed forces, shaping Iran’s foreign and security policies for nearly four decades.

Ahead of the strikes, the Central Intelligence Agency had assessed potential succession scenarios, including the possibility that hardline figures from the Revolutionary Guards could assume power if Khamenei were killed, according to sources familiar with US intelligence. The agency declined to comment.

A senior US administration official said Washington had indicators that Iran was preparing preemptive strikes against American forces in the region, adding that President Donald Trump would not allow US troops to “absorb attacks.”

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump had spoken with leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, amid rising regional tensions.

Khamenei’s reported death follows a cascade of crises for Tehran, including strikes last year that damaged key nuclear and missile facilities and months of domestic unrest driven by economic hardship and sanctions.

If confirmed by Iranian authorities, the development could trigger a volatile power struggle in Tehran and further escalate tensions across the Middle East.—MCG, GMA Integrated News