Iran’s state media has confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed following coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel that began early Saturday local time.
The announcement came hours after President Donald Trump said Khamenei was dead and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the supreme leader’s compound in Tehran had been destroyed in what he described as a powerful, surprise strike.
Tehran has since launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks, signaling a sharp escalation in hostilities and raising the prospect of a widening regional conflict with unpredictable consequences.
Images show widespread destruction at Tehran leadership complex
Satellite imagery and ground photographs show extensive destruction across the compound, including severe damage to the House of Leadership, known as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office and primary residence. Smoke is visible rising from the roof, while surrounding structures appear heavily impacted, with uprooted trees and multiple buildings still smoldering, POLITICO reported.
The images also capture the Imam Khomeini Hussainia, a religious hall used by Iranian leaders for ceremonies and major speeches. It remains unclear whether the structure was directly hit, though debris appears scattered across its roof. A satellite image from a year ago showed at least six buildings within the complex, all now damaged.
In a televised address on Saturday evening, Netanyahu said that “they destroyed the compound of the tyrant Khamenei in the heart of Tehran”, adding that there are “many signs the tyrant himself is no more”. Shortly afterward, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead”. He added that Khamenei was “unable to evade US intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems” and that, working closely with Israel, there was nothing he or other leaders killed alongside him could do.
Early reports indicated that the presidential office in Tehran was among the initial targets of the strikes, though Iranian state television later said President Masoud Pezeshkian was safe and he subsequently issued a statement. Despite a near-total internet blackout detected late Saturday morning, additional waves of strikes and explosions were reported throughout the day. Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation has closed the country’s airspace until further notice.
Iranian missile barrages target US assets in Middle East
In a retaliatory escalation, Iran launched strikes against US military assets across several Gulf states, saying the attacks were in response to what it described as a coordinated assault by Washington and Israel. The move has amplified concerns that the confrontation could expand into a broader regional war.
Iranian officials said targets were hit in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, all of which host American military facilities. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that Israeli and US sites across the Middle East were struck by powerful Iranian missile barrages.
The strikes came after reports of explosions in multiple cities across Iran, including Karaj near Tehran, Isfahan and Qom in the country’s centre, and Kermanshah in the west. A spokesperson for the Iranian Red Crescent told local media that 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces had been affected by US and Israeli strikes, as videos circulating on social media appeared to show civilians fleeing near blast sites.
In a televised address early Saturday, Trump said the US would destroy Iran’s missiles and raze its missile industry to the ground, adding in a video posted on Truth Social that it would be totally obliterated again. The remarks followed weeks of warnings from Trump that he would order military action if Tehran refused to agree to a new deal over its nuclear programme.