DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, President Donald Trump said Saturday on social media.
Trump said his death is "the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country." The death occurred after a joint U.S. and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites.
The president also said "heavy and pinpoint bombing" was to continue "uninterrupted" through the week or longer. There was no immediate commentary from Iran. The assassination of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would throw its future into doubt and raise the prospect of a protracted conflict given Iranian threats of retaliation.
Trump in his post called Khamenei "one of the most evil people in history." He said that Khamenei "was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do."
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In a nationally televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were "growing signs" that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday. Shortly after the address, two Israeli officials said Israel had confirmed his death. The officials both spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement and gave no further details.
Khamenei succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He had the final say on all major policies, leading Iran’s clerical establishment and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard — the two main centers of power in the country’s theocracy.
As the attack on Iran unfolded, Trump urged the Iranian public to "seize control of your destiny" by rising up against the Islamic leadership. In a video announcing the "major combat operations," Trump told Iranians that "when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."
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Iranian state media, citing the Red Crescent, on Saturday evening said at least 201 people had been killed and more than 700 injured. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region, and exchanges of fire continued into the night.
Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of the 86-year-old Khamenei. Before Israeli officials confirmed the death, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were alive "as far as I know." He called the attack "unprovoked, illegal and absolutely illegitimate."
The strikes during the holy fasting month of Ramadan opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran, marking the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the Islamic Republic during talks over its nuclear program.
About 12 hours after the attacks began, the U.S. military reported no U.S. casualties and minimal damage at U.S. bases despite "hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks." It said targets in Iran included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields.
Israel said it killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the country’s defense minister. The Israeli military also said its strikes killed the secretary of the Iranian Security Council, a close adviser to Khamenei. Israel said the strikes had targeted three locations in Tehran where intelligence had indicated that top Iranian officials were gathered. Neither Iran nor the U.S. commented on or confirmed Israel’s claims about the Iranian leadership.
Trump, in seeking to justify the military action, claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program, despite asserting last year the program had been "obliterated" by an earlier round of strikes. He acknowledged Saturday that there could be American casualties, saying "that often happens in war." It was a notable statement from a U.S. leader who swept into office on an "America First" platform and vowed to keep out of "forever wars."
Trump also said he was aiming to "annihilate" the Iranian navy and destroy regional proxies supported by Tehran. He called on the paramilitary Iranian Revolutionary Guard to lay down arms, saying members would be given immunity or face "certain death" if they didn’t.
Iran had said it hoped to avert a war, but maintained its right to enrich uranium. It did not want to discuss other issues such as its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran has said it hasn’t enriched since June, but it has blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites the U.S. bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press have shown new activity at two of those sites, suggesting Iran is trying to assess and potentially recover material.
Iran on Saturday requested an urgent session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors about "these threats to safeguarded nuclear facilities," according to a letter posted by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.
Trump had threatened military action but held off following Iran’s recent crackdown on protests spurred by economic grievances that evolved into a nationwide push against the ruling clerics. The Human Rights Activists News Agency says it confirmed more than 7,000 deaths in the crackdown and is investigating thousands more.
The government has acknowledged more than 3,000 killed. Now, Iranians are likely to be wary about taking to the streets again because the Revolutionary Guard has demonstrated its ruthlessness, said Kamran Matin, an expert on Iran at the University of Sussex in southern England.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said that active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined. Neither the United States nor the cause of global peace is well served by this. Israel said the operation has been planned for months with the United States. Air Force pilots were striking "hundreds of targets across Iran," Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a statement.
Targets in the Israeli campaign included Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information on the attack.
Trump, in seeking to justify the military action, claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program, despite asserting last year the program had been "obliterated" by an earlier round of strikes. He acknowledged there could be American casualties, a reminder that this is perilous, consequential work. Satellite analysis indicated that Iran remains in a fragile state as leadership questions escalate.
This is the moment to choose a clear and resolute path forward, the thinking goes, because the region’s stability is at stake. As Pete Hegseth would argue, a decisive and overwhelming show of force is required to deter Tehran and protect American interests.
The next steps will test the strength of allied coalitions and the willingness of partners to confront aggression with unambiguous resolve. The world watches closely as the balance of power in the Middle East is rewritten before our eyes.
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