Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was killed in US and Israeli air strikes on Tehran, intelligence officials have said.
The ayatollah’s body was reportedly recovered from rubble and riddled with shrapnel wounds after a “major combat operation” launched by Donald Trump to try to topple the Iranian regime.
Documentation of the successful assassination – in the form of photographs – has been presented to Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Israeli defence officials.
Israel carried out a massive strike on Khamenei’s compound in the opening salvo of attacks on Iran on Saturday morning.
It was also reported that Mr Trump, the US president, was shown the same image of Khamenei’s body after it was found by Iranian authorities at his Tehran compound.
The Israeli prime minister had previously said: “Signs are increasing that Khamenei is no longer with us.”
However, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry insisted the ayatollah was “safe and sound”, although Khamenei has not been seen in public since the strikes began.
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Following the strikes, Tehran responded by firing waves of ballistic missiles at US bases in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, and striking the US Navy 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
Trump: I think the ayatollah is dead
Donald Trump has said he believes Iran’s Supreme Leader is dead.
“We feel that that is a correct story,” he said, following reports of Ali Khamenei’s death.
Asked about the ayatollah’s replacement, he told NBC News: “I don’t know, but at some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I’d like… I’m only being a little sarcastic when I say that.”
The US president said “most” of Iran’s leadership has been killed in the waves of American and Israeli attacks today.
“We’ve inflicted tremendous damage. It would take them years to rebuild,” he claimed.
Iran ‘preparing a pre-emptive strike’, claims Trump official
Iran may have been preparing to launch pre-emptive missile strikes against American forces, a senior figure in Donald Trump’s administration has claimed.
“We had indicators that they intended to use it potentially, pre-emptively,” the individual told CNN. “And the president decided he was not going to sit back and allow America’s forces in the region to absorb attacks from conventional missiles.”
The official added: “We are not going to be held hostage by them, and we are not going to let them hit us first, because it would have substantially increased the risk to our troops in the region and to our allies.”
However, a source familiar with the intelligence contradicted the claim and said there were no indications Iran planned to strike US forces or assets first.
Israel releases ‘kill list’
Israel has released a list of senior Iranian officials it says have been killed in Saturday’s strikes.
Claiming to have dismantled Iran’s “defence leadership”, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) say the following figures are dead:
- Ali Shamkhani – Secretary of the Iranian Security Council
- Mohammad Pakpour – Commander of the IRGC
- Mohammad Shirazi – Head of the Military Bureau
- Aziz Nasirzadeh – Defence Minister
- Hossein Jabal Amelian – Chairman of the SPND (military technology)
- Reza Mozaffari-Nia – Former Chairman of the SPND
- Saleh Asadi – a senior intelligence officer
- Pictured: Trump monitors Iran strikes
The White House has released an image of Donald Trump monitoring strikes on Iran in a Mar-a-Lago situation room early on Saturday morning.
Seated on the US president’s left is Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state. Next to him is Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.
US forces ‘at risk’ if conflict drags on
American forces will be increasingly vulnerable to retaliation from Iran the longer the conflict drags on for, a former Pentagon official under Donald Trump has warned.
Katherine Thompsontold The Telegraph that defending against Iranian missiles and drones for an “extended period” put American bases in the Middle East at risk given the US’ limited supply of missile interceptors.
“The real risk is the ability to provide protection of US forces across the network of legacy bases the US has in the region, as well as defence of Israel, for an extended period of time,” she said.
“Such expansive defensive requirements stressing an already stressed supply of weaponry puts the US on the backfoot in this scenario, and that dynamic no doubt has to be considered by senior decision-makers. “
Ayatollah aide vows ‘unforgettable’ reveng
After Israeli media reported that the Supreme Leader had been killed, Ali Larijani, his top aid, posted on X: “We will make the Zionist criminals and the shameless Americans regret their actions.
“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,”
