BREAKING: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei Confirmed Dead

Israeli media outlet Channel 12 is reported that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead after targeted U.S. and Israeli strikes on his compound in central Tehran on Saturday.

The outlet reported that more than 30 air and missile strikes targeted the compound around 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday. Satellite imagery confirmed that the structure was reduced to rubble, while the whereabouts of Khamenei and his inner-circle were unknown in the immediate aftermath.

An unnamed official familiar with the operation stated that around 30 key Iranian regime leaders and military chiefs were targeted in broader strikes across Iran.

Initial assessments indicated that Khamenei’s military secretary, as well as unspecified members of his family, were killed in the operation. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander General Mohammad Pakpour and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh were also confirmed to have been killed in broader strikes across Iran.

The world changed this morning.

The United States and Israel launched a joint strike targeting Iran’s entire regime leadership, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran’s Defense Minister and IRGC commander are confirmed dead. Khamenei’s compound is rubble. His fate is… pic.twitter.com/S4HtN6aNj0

— Clayton Wood (@WoodClayton) February 28, 2026

Channel 12 explicitly reported, citing unnamed Israeli sources, that initial assessments indicated that Ali Khamenei was indeed killed in the strikes. The longtime Iranian leader was reportedly inside the complex’s bunker system at the time of the strike, but he was not in the deeper levels designed to withstand deep impact strikes.

The report added that Khamenei, 86, was at least seriously wounded in the attack.

Iranian officials had earlier claimed that Khamenei was alive, but provided no details on his condition or whereabouts. While speaking with NBC News, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated Khamenei is “alive as far as I know,” along with President Masoud Pezeshkian and other top officials.

At 3:05 p.m. Eastern Time, Fox News confirmed, citing sources familiar with battle damage assessments, that Khamenei was confirmed killed. The report, which cited senior Israeli officials, indicated that Khamenei’s body was recovered from the rubble of his compound.

Ali Khamenei’s visits the exhibition of achievements of the IRGC Aerospace Force on November 19, 2023

Khamenei, born April 19, 1939, served as the Supreme Leader of Iran — the country’s highest political and religious authority — from June 4, 1989, until his death. He was elected by the Assembly of Experts the day after the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini, and became the second supreme leader after a short period as acting leader.

Under his role, Khamenei held near-absolute power. He was commander-in-chief of the armed forces (including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), appointed the head of the judiciary and half the members of the Guardian Council, and had final say on all major domestic and foreign policies.

He oversaw the crushing of multiple waves of protests, including the 1999 student uprising, the 2009 Green Movement, the 2017–2019 economic protests, and the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests. The regime’s brutal crackdown on recent unrest — which left thousands of Iranian’s dead, according to human rights organizations — has been cited by the U.S. as a motivating factor for Saturday’s strikes.

There is no official appointed successor as of Khamenei’s death. Under Iran’s constitution, the 88-member Assembly of Experts must convene to elect the next supreme leader, which is a lifetime position.

No heir had been publicly named before Khamenei’s death.