Iran's Khamenei was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on Saturday morning, according to Israeli officials and multiple media reports.
Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in Saturday morning strikes on Tehran, according to multiple US and Israeli officials and reports in Israeli and international media.
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A photograph of Khamenei's body has been shown to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after it was retrieved from the rubble of his residence following strikes by US and Israel, Channel 12 reported on Saturday night.
Additionally, a senior Israeli official shared the same information with international media outlets.
The news came after Netanyahu said on Saturday evening that there were "many signs" Khamenei was dead.
"This morning, in a powerful surprise strike, the compound of the tyrant Ali Khamenei was destroyed in the heart of Tehran ... and there are many signs that this tyrant is no longer alive," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
In a phone interview with NBC on Saturday night, US President Donald Trump said that "we feel" reports of Khamenei's death were "correct," telling both NBC and ABC News that "a lot" of Iran's top leadership is gone.
"We don’t know all, but a lot of it is," Trump told ABC. "The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone."
Asked about who could take over the reins in Tehran, the US president said, "I don’t know, but at some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I'd like."
"I'm only being a little sarcastic when I say that," Trump added.
The Israeli military said seven senior Iranian officials, including the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), General Mohammad Pakpour, were also killed in the strikes.
Among those killed were Khamenei's senior advisor Ali Shamkhani and Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised statement, showing photographs of some of the individuals killed.
Meanwhile, witnesses said on Saturday that loud cheers echoed across parts of Tehran and residents took to their windows to applaud and play celebratory music after reports of Khamenei's demise.
The celebrations began shortly after 11 pm local time (8 pm CET), according to multiple witnesses and audio recordings.
The strikes prompted Tehran to fire off a missile barrage that sent people running for cover in cities across the Middle East, with drones striking civilian targets in Bahrain and the UAE on Saturday evening.
In 1989, Khamenei became Iran's ayatollah after the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Khamenei played an important role in the movement that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the 1979 revolution.
The 86-year-old Khamenei is Iran's commander-in-chief and has the final say on all policy and religious matters.
IRGC, the force under severe US and EU sanctions that is considered to be the military pillar of the Tehran regime, answers directly to him.
Khamenei has been in charge during previous crackdowns on protesters in Iran. He recently said Iran was ready to retaliate against any American attack.
One of the first strikes Saturday hit near Khamenei's offices in Tehran. It was not immediately clear where Khamenei was at the time, as he had not been seen for days.
Tehran state media have denied the news of Khamenei's death, citing sources close to his office and claiming he remained "firmly in command". Earlier on Saturday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Khamenei was alive "as far as I know".