Israel announces the assassination of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, and Iran denies it
In an unprecedented escalation shaking the region, the spokesperson for the Israeli army announced the killing of several senior Iranian leaders, including the commander of the Revolutionary Guard and the Minister of Defense, in addition to Ali Shamkhani, the advisor to the leader on security affairs, and the head of the leader's office, confirming that the strike targeted a location that housed several prominent leaders.
In a more dramatic development, Reuters reported a senior Israeli official announcing the death of the Iranian supreme leaderAli Khamenei, indicating that his body was found and removed from the rubble of his headquarters after intense bombing, and that documentation of the body was shown to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yair Lapid, also informed American officials that the assassination operation was carried out, according to Axios.
Netanyahu announced in a televised speech that “Khamenei is no longer present,” confirming that the airstrikes completely destroyed his headquarters, and calling on Iranians to take to the streets “to seize the opportunity” and overthrow the regime, repeating his phrase: “We will change the face of the Middle East.”
For his part, U.S. President Donald Trump announced via the “Truth Social” platform that Khamenei “is dead,” describing him as “one of the most evil figures in history,” considering that what happened represents “the greatest opportunity for the Iranian people to reclaim their homeland,” asserting that Khamenei “could not escape from intelligence agencies and highly advanced tracking systems.”
In contrast, official media in Iran denied Khamenei's death, citing an official in his office stating that what is happening is “psychological warfare,” while the Tasnim agency reported that the leader is present in the operations room managing war affairs.
Amid the Israeli and American confirmations and the Iranian denial, the confrontation enters a highly dangerous phase that may redraw the contours of the conflict in the region.
