Iran’s state and semi-state media reported on Sunday that the country’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed in a joint Israeli and US attack.
The information was reported by Tasnim News and Fars News . State television IRIB confirmed Khamenei’s death and declared 40 days of national mourning.
According to Iranian media, an attack was carried out on Khamenei’s palace in Tehran on Saturday morning. Shortly after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and later US President Donald Trump claimed Khamenei’s death. Tehran initially did not officially acknowledge the incident, but on Sunday morning, state television confirmed it.
Khamenei has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, commanding the country’s defense forces and wielding deep influence over state structures, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. He took office a decade after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.