Iranian state media has confirmed the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
US president Donald Trump had earlier announced the death of Khamenei.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said: “This is not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans.”
He said of Khamenei: “He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.”
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It follows US and Israeli forces’ missile strikes on Iran on Saturday morning in what the two countries described as a “pre-emptive” strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons. The attack prompted retaliation from Iran, with missiles reported to have targeted Israel and countries across the Middle East.
An image of Khamenei’s corpse was reportedly obtained by Israel, verified and shown to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter earlier updated US officials claiming that Israel had succeeded in killing Khamenei.
A senior Iranian spokesperson had reacted to the earlier report by saying that “the enemy is using psychological warfare, we must be aware”.
The elimination is a game changer and marks a significant step towards the aim of the war set by both the US and Israel: regime change. The development is likely to inspire opponents of the regime inside Iran to take to the streets when they deem the time is right.
His killing marks the first time Israel has assassinated a leader of a foreign country.
According to Israeli security assessments, Khamenei was among several senior Iranian leaders targeted in coordinated strikes at multiple locations where they had gathered on Saturday morning, marking the start of the war.
Satellite imagery showed the destroyed complex in Tehran where Khamenei was reportedly being guarded although Iranian officials told Reuters that Khamenei was not in the capital and had been transferred to a “secure location”.
In addition to Khamenei, Israeli reports named other targets in the initial strikes as Mohammad Pakpour, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council; Iran’s defence minister; the head of Iranian military intelligence; and Iran’s armed forces chief of staff. But it was the killing of Ali Khamenei that is likely impact the course of Middle East history.
At 86 years old, Iran’s supreme leader was the region’s longest-serving head of state. During his almost 37 years in power, he cemented his control over all aspects of life in Iran becoming the sole voice deciding on all important questions.
As head of state and commander-in-chief he had authority over the police, the morality police and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its volunteer wing, the Basij - used to quell dissent in Iran.
Khamenei expanded Iran’s influence across the region, building up its military power and bringing the country to nuclear threshold status. He created a so-called axis of resistance via powerful proxies to surround Israel on all sides. The powerful Shia militia in Lebanon, Hizbullah, set a model that was copied by the Houthis in Yemen, Shia militias in Iraq and the Sunni Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. An unbridled hatred of Israel and the US was central to his worldview, influenced by classic anti-Semitic Muslim Brotherhood texts.
His death will precipitate only the second leadership change in Iran since the regime’s establishment nearly 50 years ago, and its implications will reverberate across the Middle East and around the world.
Every leader has a replacement but it is doubtful if anyone will be able to fill the void left by Khamenei, particularly at this juncture when Iran is at its weakest point in decades.
Khamenei reportedly put in place detailed plans for his succession and emergency chains of command should he, or other top leaders, be killed in potential US or Israeli strikes, elevating longtime loyalist Ali Larijani to manage the crisis.
It remains to be seen how the succession will play out and if the regime can indeed survive such a cataclysmic blow.
