Israeli airstrike kills Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei: Report

Senior Israeli officials have been informed that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tehran, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post. The newspaper said officials were told on Saturday evening that his body had been found under rubble following the strike.

Reuters also cited a senior Israeli official as saying the Supreme Leader “is dead and his body has been found”. Iran has not confirmed the claim.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped short of directly confirming Khamenei’s death but indicated that Iran’s top leadership had been targeted. In a video statement, he said there were “many signs indicating Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is no longer,” adding that “Khamenei’s compound had been destroyed, and Revolutionary Guard commanders and senior nuclear officials had been destroyed”.

Israeli television earlier reported that preliminary assessments suggested the Supreme Leader had likely been killed in the strike.

However, Dr Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, identified as a representative of the Iranian Supreme Leader in India, rejected the reports. “The Supreme Leader is in good health and never has a fear of America or any other people,” he said. “He will continue by his dignity and wisdom, and I hope that we will win this war.”

Separate reports indicated that Iran’s Defence Minister, Amir Nasirzadeh, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour are also believed to have been killed in Israeli strikes. Sources familiar with Israel’s military operations and a regional source quoted by Reuters said both men were targeted in recent attacks.

Nasirzadeh had previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces before becoming Defence Minister, and began his military career as a fighter pilot. Pakpour assumed charge of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2025 following the death of his predecessor, Hossein Salami, in earlier Israeli strikes.

Tehran has yet to issue an official statement on the reported deaths.