Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has died, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday on the platform Truth Social.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil men in history, is dead,” Trump stated.
Shortly before the post appeared on Truth Social, Trump told NBC that numerous reports about Khamenei’s death could be true, but at that time he stopped short of offering unequivocal confirmation.
Tehran has not confirmed reports of the leader’s death.
Iran’s news agency Tasnim, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, described reports and claims about Khamenei’s death as “psychological warfare.”
“The Leader of the Revolution is resilient and determined to continue his leadership,” the agency quoted an unnamed source as saying.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “many indications” that Khamenei had been killed in a strike on his residence in Tehran during U.S. and Israeli attacks.
Israel and the United States carried out strikes on Iran on Saturday, with missile attacks hitting the capital Tehran as well as other cities.
Khamenei’s residence in Tehran was reportedly destroyed in the strikes.
Iran has launched retaliatory attacks against Israel, as well as against U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and other Persian Gulf states.
According to the Iranian Red Crescent, 201 people were killed and 747 injured in Israeli and U.S. strikes in Iran on Saturday.
Trump Announces Khamenei’s Death
