Trump, Israel Claims Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Dead, Iran Says ‘Mental Warfare’
US President Donald Trump has announced that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in US-Israeli strikes, even as Tehran dismissed the reports as “mental warfare” and the United Nations said it could not confirm the claims.
In a dramatic post on his Truth Social platform, Trump declared: “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead.” He described the reported killing as “Justice for the people of Iran” and for Americans and others around the world whom he accused Khamenei and his “bloodthirsty THUGS” of harming.
The US president said the Iranian leader had been unable to evade “our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems” and that the operation had been carried out in close coordination with Israel. “There was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do,” Trump wrote.
He added that the development presented “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country” and claimed that members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), military and police were seeking immunity. “As I said last night, ‘Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!’” Trump warned, adding that “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue “as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”
Despite the forceful statement, Trump appeared less categorical in subsequent remarks to US media. Speaking to ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, he said he “believes” Khamenei is dead but stopped short of definitive confirmation. “I don’t want to say anything definitively until I see things but we believe he is,” he reportedly said, adding that “much of their leadership is gone”. In a separate phone call with NBC News, Trump said: “We feel that is a correct story.”
The White House said Trump had briefed key allies. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the president had spoken with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He also held calls with leaders of the United Kingdom, Kuwait and Turkey.
Israel has likewise signalled a major blow against Iran’s military command, though it stopped short of directly confirming Khamenei’s death. The Israel Defense Forces said it had “eliminated” Iran’s defence leadership in its “opening salvo” of attacks. Those named included Ali Shamkhani, a senior security adviser; Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the IRGC; and Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “growing signs” that Khamenei was “gone”. Reuters, citing a senior Israeli official, reported that the Iranian leader’s body had been located. Axios said Israel’s ambassador to Washington had informed US officials that Khamenei was killed in a strike on his compound in Tehran. Several Israeli outlets carried similar claims, citing unnamed officials.
Tehran, however, flatly rejected the reports. Iran’s Tasnim and Mehr news agencies said Khamenei remained “steadfast and firm in commanding the field”. Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, told ABC News that both Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were “safe and sound”.
Seyyed Mehrdad Seyyed Mahdi, head of public relations at Khamenei’s office, accused Israel and its allies of waging psychological operations. “The enemy has resorted to psychological warfare. We should all be careful about it,” he was quoted as saying by the semi-official ISNA news agency. Iranian state media carried similar statements describing the claims as “mental warfare”.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera correspondent Tohid Asadi said there had been no official confirmation from Iranian authorities that the supreme leader had been killed. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that, “as far as I know”, Khamenei and other senior officials remained in good health.
At the United Nations in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres addressed an emergency meeting of the Security Council. He said he was “not in a position to confirm” Israeli media reports regarding Khamenei’s death, underscoring the uncertainty surrounding the competing claims.
Khamenei, who has served as Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, is the country’s most powerful political and religious authority. As head of state and commander-in-chief, he exercises control over the armed forces, the national police and the morality police. He also oversees the IRGC and its volunteer Basij militia, institutions central to Iran’s internal security and regional posture.
If confirmed, his death would mark an extraordinary turning point in Middle Eastern politics, potentially reshaping Iran’s leadership structure and its relations with the United States and Israel. However, with sharply conflicting accounts from Washington, Jerusalem and Tehran, the immediate picture remains clouded by uncertainty.
