The 86-year-old chief was assassinated in his office early Saturday morning.His death in his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance,” according to state TV.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated, Iran’s state media revealed, after the US and Israel conducted their most extensive strike on Iranian sites in decades. It comes after the United States and Israel announced Khamenei’s death following a barrage of joint US-Israeli assaults on Tehran.

“The Supreme Leader of Iran Has Reached Martyrdom,” official broadcaster IRIB announced on Sunday morning.

According to media accounts, the 86-year-old chairman was assassinated in his office early Saturday morning. His death in his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance,” according to state TV.

Earlier, the Times of Israel reported, citing an Israeli official, that the Iranian leader was killed in an Israeli strike on his property on Saturday morning, and that his body had been discovered.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was shown a photograph of his body after it was discovered from the facility in Tehran.

The death of the Islamic Republic’s second leader, who had no chosen successor, might cast uncertainty on Tehran’s future and raise the risk of a long-term conflict, given Iranian promises of vengeance.

Trump announced Khamenei’s death.

In a tweet on X, Trump stated that the death of Iran’s 86-year-old Shah offers “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country.” The tragedy occurred following a coordinated US-Israeli aerial bombing of Iranian military and government sites.

The American commander-in-chief stated that the US collaborated closely with Israel to assassinate the guy who has headed Iran since 1989.

Shortly after Trump’s statement, the Iranian Supreme Leader’s X account released a cryptic message casting doubt on Trump’s assertion. The Persian post read: “In the name of Nami Haider (peace be upon him).”

How the US Tracked Khamenei.

Trump, who campaigned for re-election as a “peace president,” stated that the US-Israel military operation against Iran was aimed at removing Iran’s decades-long threat and preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Intelligence and tracking systems were monitoring Khamenei’s whereabouts, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, adding that “there was nothing he, or the other leaders who have been killed along with him, could do.”

“The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!” the US commander said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Khamenei’s compound had been demolished.

Other Top Iranian Leaders Killed

Three sources familiar with the situation informed Reuters that Iranian Defense Minister Amir Nasirzadeh and Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammed Pakpour were among those killed in the assault.

The Israeli military verified the deaths of five more senior military leaders, including Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader. Iranian media reported that Khamenei’s daughter, grandson, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law were also slain.

Iran has condemned the strikes as unprovoked and illegal, and has replied with missiles fired at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host US bases.

About Khamenei

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, has led Iran since 1989. As Supreme Leader, he has complete control over all organs of government, the military, and the judiciary in the Shia Islamic Republic.

Khamenei, initially seen as weak and indecisive, appeared an unexpected candidate for supreme leader following the death of the flamboyant Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, Khamenei’s ascension to the top of the country’s power structure gave him a firm grip on the country’s affairs.

According to Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Khamenei was “an accident of history” who rose from “a weak president to an initially weak supreme leader to one of the five most powerful Iranians of the last 100 years”.

Throughout his leadership, the ayatollah chastised Washington, and he continued to do so after Donald Trump’s second term began in 2025.

As a new wave of protests erupted in Iran, with shouts like “Death to the dictator,” and Trump threatened to intervene, Khamenei declared in January that Iran would not “yield to the enemy.”

The response was typical of Khamenei, who has been in power since 1989 and is fiercely anti-Western.

Khamenei thwarted the dreams of a succession of independent-minded elected presidents seeking more liberal policies at home and abroad by retaining Khomeini’s orthodox position.

Critics argue that in the process, he cemented Iran’s isolation.