TEL AVIV (The Thursday Times) — Israeli officials have claimed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed during US and Israeli air strikes on Tehran, with intelligence-linked accounts alleging his body was recovered from rubble at a compound associated with him.
The claims, which have not been confirmed by Iranian authorities, come amid rapidly escalating hostilities after a major round of strikes on Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “many signs” Khamenei was no longer alive, stopping short of a formal confirmation.
Israeli reporting has suggested that documentation, including photographs, was presented to Netanyahu and senior Israeli defence officials, and that the image was also shown to US President Donald Trump. These assertions remain unverified outside the Israeli accounts, and no independent confirmation has been provided publicly.
Following the strikes on Tehran, Iran launched retaliatory attacks across the region, including waves of missiles and drones directed at US military assets and allied facilities in several Gulf states, according to international reporting.∎
