Iranian state media reported the death early Sunday, after a major attack launched by Israel and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump said hours earlier that Khamenei had been killed in the joint operation.
Countries in the Persian Gulf shut down their airspace, forcing some of the world’s biggest airlines to halt operations after Iran targeted US bases across the peninsula in retaliatory strikes.
The joint Israeli-US strikes on Iran on Saturday targeted the Islamic republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, Israel's public broadcaster reported.
The massive US military presence in the Middle East, including warships, fighter jets, and refueling aircraft, lays the foundation for a major campaign against Iran.
Iran has responded to a wave of US strikes by launching missile attacks on multiple countries hosting some of the tens of thousands of American troops deployed across the Middle East.
Israel has declared a nationwide state of emergency following what officials have described as a preemptive strike on Tehran, amid fears of retaliation.
Pakistan’s military, backed by artillery and air power, struck more Afghan military installations deep inside Afghanistan overnight and into early Saturday, killing over 300 Afghan forces in dayslong border clashes, a government spokesman and officials said.
The U.S. and Israel launched an attack Saturday on Iran, with the first apparent strike happening near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The strike follows months of rising tensions over Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes, renewed U.S.–Iran negotiations, and warnings of retaliation that could engulf the wider Middle East in another dangerous escalation.
