Trump says Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead after US-Israeli strikes
President Trump announced Saturday that U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have resulted in the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had served as the country’s supreme leader for nearly four decades.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described Khamenei as “one of the most evil people in history” and said he was dead. The development could have far-reaching consequences for Iran and the broader Middle East, according to reporting from The New York Times.
Speaking in an interview with ABC News, Trump said U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that much of Iran’s senior leadership “is gone,” as reported by Associated Press. He characterized Khamenei’s death as “justice” for killings he said the Iranian leader had overseen, according to NBC News.
In his Truth Social post, Trump said Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems” and credited close coordination with Israel for the operation. He added that neither Khamenei nor other Iranian leaders killed in the strikes were able to evade detection.
Israeli security officials told The Washington Post that Khamenei, 86, was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting his compound in Tehran.
Khamenei had led Iran since 1989, serving as the Islamic Republic’s highest political and religious authority and playing a central role in directing the country’s military and nuclear strategy.
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