Gambiaj.com – Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has been reported killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes, alongside several of the Islamic Republic’s most senior military and political figures, in what would mark the most consequential decapitation of Iran’s leadership since the 1979 revolution.
Israeli media outlets, including public broadcaster Kan and Channel 12, reported that Khamenei was killed in the strikes and that his body had been recovered from the rubble of his compound.
A senior Israeli official told Reuters that the Supreme Leader was among those eliminated in the operation.
Channel 12 further reported that a photograph of Khamenei’s body was shown to U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump Signals Confidence in Reports
President Trump told NBC News in a phone interview that he believes the reports of Khamenei’s death are accurate.
“We feel that that is a correct story,” Trump said, according to NBC’s website.
In a separate interview with ABC News, Trump stated that “a lot” of Iran’s top leadership had been killed in the coordinated strikes, which he described as having “incapacitated” the Islamic Republic. He added that the U.S. administration has “a very good idea” of who would fill key positions of power in Tehran.
A Fox News reporter, citing a U.S. official, said Washington believes Khamenei and between five and ten senior Iranian leaders were killed in the initial strike.
Senior Military and Political Figures Among Dead
The Israeli military said seven senior Iranian officials were killed in the wave of strikes. Those identified include General Mohammad Pakpour, described as head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards; Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh; Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Khamenei and head of the Iranian Security Council; Armed forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi; Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Research officials Hossein Jabal Amelian and Reza Mozaffari-Nia; as well as longtime Defense liaison Mohammed Shirazi.
In a televised briefing, Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin displayed photographs of some of the officials and described the operation as a targeted effort against the upper echelon of Iran’s command structure.
If confirmed, the deaths of Khamenei and several key lieutenants would represent a sweeping blow to Iran’s political, military, and ideological leadership, creating an unprecedented vacuum at the apex of the Islamic Republic.
Tehran Denies, Calls Reports ‘Mental Warfare’
Iranian state media quoted the head of public relations at the Supreme Leader’s office as accusing the country’s enemies of waging “mental warfare.”
“The enemy is resorting to mental warfare; all should be aware,” the official said, without explicitly confirming whether Khamenei was alive.
As of publication, there has been no formal confirmation from Tehran of the Supreme Leader’s death.
The uncertainty surrounding Khamenei’s fate, combined with reports of multiple senior officials killed, has intensified speculation over succession within Iran’s clerical establishment and the future direction of the state.
However, absent official confirmation from Iranian authorities, the full scope and impact of the reported decapitation strike remain unclear.
