Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several Israeli and international media outlets reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed following Israeli strikes on Iran, reports Baltimore Chronicle.
According to statements made on Saturday evening, Netanyahu said there were multiple indications that Khamenei had been eliminated as a result of the strikes. Media outlets quoted the Israeli prime minister as saying there were “many signs” suggesting that Iran’s Supreme Leader had been killed during the attack.
At 21:42 local time, The Times of Israel reported, citing an Israeli official, that Ali Khamenei had been killed in a morning airstrike. Journalist Barak Ravid of Axios stated that Israeli representatives had already informed the United States about the development. According to the report, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, told U.S. officials that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike targeting his residence.
Around 21:50, Reuters, citing its own source, reported that Khamenei had indeed died and that his body had been recovered. Israel’s Channel 12 later reported that the body was found beneath the rubble of the Supreme Leader’s residence.
Satellite imagery from Airbus, published by Israeli media, showed significant destruction at the residence in Tehran following the morning strike on February 28.
Ali Khamenei, who was born into the family of a high-ranking Muslim cleric, became Iran’s president in 1981. In 1989, he assumed the position of Supreme Leader, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic. In that role, he consolidated extensive powers, overseeing key state institutions and exerting influence over Iran’s political, military and religious structures.
Under Iran’s constitutional framework, the next Supreme Leader must be selected by the Assembly of Experts, a body composed of 88 representatives. Half of its members are appointed by the Supreme Leader.
Among those mentioned as potential successors are three prominent theologians as well as the speaker of Iran’s parliament. There has also been speculation that Khamenei intended to pass the position to his son, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Earlier we wrote that U.S. Embassy Staff Evacuated from Israel as Trump Considers Iran Strike, Regional Tensions Rise
