Iran's Khamenei was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on Saturday morning, state-run media confirmed, after US President Donald Trump said "one of the most evil people in history" was dead.
Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Saturday morning strikes on Tehran, state-run media confirmed, after US President Donald Trump announced it on Saturday night.
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The state-run media also announced 40 days of public mourning and seven days of public holiday over Khamenei's death.
The US president said Khamenei was dead earlier in the day, following multiple reports and statements from Israeli officials that he was killed following strikes by the US and Israel on Saturday.
"Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday night.
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, Channel 12 reported prior to Trump's statement.
Additionally, a senior Israeli official shared the same information with international media outlets.
The news first emerged Saturday evening after Netanyahu said 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, 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.
Seven senior Iranian officials killed
Alongside the killing of the Ayatollah, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported the killing of these senior commanders during a Defense Council meeting: Seyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces; Mohammad Bagheri, Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC; Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Defense Council; and Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense.
The Israeli military had earlier 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 it listed 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.