Iran’s longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who has led the country for nearly four decades — is reportedly dead after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on the country Saturday, President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump wrote. His statement aligns with earlier comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said there were “many signs” that Khamenei is no longer alive.
According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced Saturday night local time that it will soon launch what it calls the fiercest offensive action in the history of the country’s armed forces, targeting both Israeli and U.S military bases.
Israel and the United States launched a wave of coordinated airstrikes across Iran early Saturday as part of a large-scale military operation titled “Operation Epic Fury,” aimed at overthrowing Iran’s Islamic ruling regime, Trump and Netanyahu both announced.
Iranian state media has confirmed Khamenei’s death, according to CNN. Regional analysts say there is no clear successor ready to assume control of the country if the Iranian supreme leader is confirmed dead, Fox News reported.
During the 12-day war with Israel in June, when Ayatollah Khamenei was in hiding, he identified three candidates who could succeed him, The New York Times reported. Under Iran’s constitution, the supreme leader must be a senior Shiite cleric appointed by the Assembly of Experts, a committee of clerics.
Citing interviews with six senior Iranian officials and two clerics who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Times reported that Khamenei’s preferred candidates were Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossen Mohseni-Ejei, his chief of staff, Ali Asghar Hejazi, and Hassan Khomeini, a reformist cleric and the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini.
The uncertainty over leadership comes as claims about casualties continue to emerge. Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that the supreme leader’s daughter, son-in-law and grandson were killed in a strike.
The conflict quickly spread across the Gulf as Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israeli and U.S. bases in the region. Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates — all home to U.S military facilities — confirmed their air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles. Explosions were reported in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and Bahrain confirmed a missile attack near facilities affiliated with the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet, according to CNBC.
Israel’s Defense Ministry described the assault on Iran as a “preemptive strike” aimed at eliminating threats to Israel.
Trump called the campaign a “major combat operation” in a video posted on Truth Social, saying the goal was to protect Americans by removing “imminent threats” posed by Iran’s leadership. Netanyahu has framed Iran as an “existential threat”, arguing that Israel could not allow Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons. Trump vowed to dismantle Iran’s missile and ballistic weapons industry and target its navy, signaling the end of weeks of diplomatic negotiations.
Trump has repeatedly called for a regime change in Iran. In his post on social media after Saturday’s strikes, Trump said Khamenei’s death would be “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”
On Feb. 27, one day before the strikes, Trump voiced frustration with Iran’s negotiating position after talks mediated by Oman were held in Geneva, but said no final decision on military action had been made. Still, the United States quietly expanded its military presence in the region over the past month.
Strikes were first reported around 9:40 a.m. local time Saturday in central Tehran, and explosions were heard near Ayatollah Khamenei’s office in the capital. The Israeli military reported that Iran had launched multiple rounds of missiles toward the country, as well as at least two key U.S. military bases in the region.
Israeli authorities declared a nationwide state of emergency, ordering civilians into shelters, banning public gatherings, closing schools and nonessential businesses and shutting down civilian airspace, according to Reuters.
Several Gulf states condemned the strikes as a violation of sovereignty. U.S. embassies across the region instructed their staff and American citizens to shelter in place. The United Arab Emirates temporarily shut its airspace, and major carriers reported cancellations and rerouting as the confrontation threatened broader regional stability.
As of Saturday evening local time, Trump has announced that the Iranian supreme leader is dead, and additional strikes are still being reported. Citing two U.S. officials, CBS News reported that the United States and Israel have launched another wave of strikes on Iran, with the Israeli Defense Forces saying the strikes targeted ballistic missiles and air defense systems. The full scope of the operation remains unclear.
Iranian state-run media said that following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is currently leading the country, though the claim has not been confirmed by any independent source.