Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in the U.S.- Israeli strikes on Iran, according to multiple reports.
The death of the Islamic Republic leader marks a major achievement for President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who both called for regime change and urged Iranians to rise up against the clerical government in the wake of the strikes.
Israeli officials initially said they saw "signs" that Khamenei was dead, but later said they had confirmed his death, saying his body had been found, Reuters reported.
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Why It Matters
Khamenei, 86, had ruled the Islamic Republic for 36 years after becoming its second leader in 1989, a decade after rising to prominence in the theocratic revolution which toppled Iran's monarchy.
The U.S.-Israeli military operation code-named "Epic Fury" targeted several high-level Iranian officials including Khamenei and the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose whereabouts are also unknown.
In a video address shortly after the first strikes, Trump told Iranian protesters the U.S. action would provide "probably your only chance for generations" to force regime change, saying: "Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take."
What To Know
Satellite imagery on Saturday showed Khamenei's presidential compound in Tehran flattened, but there was uncertainty over the leader's whereabouts for several hours.
Iranian officials declined to say with certainty Khamenei was alive, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying soon after the strikes the leader was still alive “as far as I know."
Earlier, there were reports that Khamenei had been relocated to a secure facility according to Iranian officials. Hours after the strikes, Iranian media also broadcast that Khamenei would be delivering an address to the nation. But that did not happen.
Netanyahu in a TV broadcast claimed that there were "signs" of Khamenei's demise, with Iran continuing to deny those reports, saying the supreme leader was "safe and sound" and later that he was "steadfast and firm in commanding the field," according to British outlet Sky News.
However, one Israeli official told CNN they had photographic evidence of Khamenei's body, while a second said an official announcement was being prepared.
Fox News then reported, through a post by chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin, that U.S. intelligence indicated Khamenei and five to 10 top Iranian leaders had been killed in the strikes, concurring with the Israeli assessment.
Griffin also cited multiple sources who said the U.S. and Israel had made the unusual decision to launch a daytime strike because a "target of opportunity" presented itself, prompting the two nations to accelerate the timeline for a strike.
“It caught the senior leadership off guard, a Saturday morning during Ramadan and on Shabbat in the daytime," a senior U.S. defense official told Griffin, adding the attack "hit the senior leaders right out of the gate."
The reported killing of Iran's most senior leader now leaves a critical gap in leadership in Iran, which Trump says provides an opportunity to Iranians to rise up and overthrow their government. The CIA has assessed Khamenei will most likely be replaced by hardline figures from Iran's Revolutionary Guards, officials told Reuters.
Trump said the U.S. strikes were aimed at ending a security threat to Americans and ensuring Iran could not develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied seeking a nuclear weapon and insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
What People Are Saying
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in video message posted to X, in part: "For 47 years, the Ayatollah regime has chanted 'Death to Israel' and 'Death to America.' It has spilled our blood, murdered many Americans, and slaughtered its own people," adding, "This morning, in a powerful surprise attack we destroyed the compound of the tyrant Khamenei in the heart of Tehran. For three and a half decades, this cruel tyrant has exported terror around the world, made his people miserable and worked tirelessly on the plan to destroy Israel. That plan is no more. And there are many signs that the tyrant himself is no more."
President Donald Trump in comments to NBC News: "I don't want to comment on that, but the rumor is, and the word is, that he has been killed. He's killed many people. He's killed many, many people. Destroyed many lives. Destroyed many families, and he destroyed a country."
He added: "I've spoken to a lot of people, beyond, and we feel certain...that that is a correct story."
Update 2/28/26, 4:23 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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