Photo: BABAK / AFP / Getty Images
Israeli media are reporting growing indications that Ali Khamenei, Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader, may have been killed in a massive joint U.S.-Israeli military operation that struck Iran on Saturday (February 28). The operation, dubbed "Roaring Lion," targeted dozens of military sites across the country, including areas near Khamenei's Tehran compound.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli officials said Khamenei has been cut off from contact, and no certainty exists about his fate. The preliminary assessment among Israeli officials is that he was hurt in the strike. No official confirmation has come from Israeli, American, or Iranian sources.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "there are many signs that Khamenei is no longer alive," though he did not explicitly say he was killed in the strikes. He then urged the Iranian people to "flood the streets and finish the job."
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi pushed back on the reports, telling NBC News in a live interview that Khamenei was "still alive, as far as I know." Aragchi added that the situation was "under control" and that nearly all senior officials were safe, except for "a few commanders."
Satellite imagery released by The New York Times showed visible damage to his compound, which also reportedly serves as his official residence.
Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Iran's Defense Minister Amir Nasirzadeh and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Pakpour are believed to have been killed in the attacks. Iran International also reported that four senior Iranian intelligence commanders were killed: Javad Pourhossein, head of the foreign intelligence unit; Mohammad-Reza Bajestani, head of the security unit; Ali Kheirandish, head of the counterterrorism unit; and Saeed Ehya Hamidi, adviser on the war with Israel.
A member of the Tehran City Council said that Khamenei's son-in-law and daughter-in-law were both killed in the strikes. At least three members of Iran's IRGC-linked Basij paramilitary forces were also killed, Reuters reported.
Iranian state media confirmed that President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Aragchi, Army Commander-in-Chief Amir Hatami, and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei were unharmed.
Iran responded with retaliatory strikes on Israel and several Gulf states. Explosions were reported in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar — all home to U.S. military bases. Sirens sounded across northern and central Israel, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as Iranian missile launches were detected.
Iran's foreign ministry released a statement saying the attacks had taken place even while nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States were underway. "Just as we were prepared for negotiations, we have been more prepared than ever for defence," the statement read.
The IDF said it had completed a broad strike on Iran's strategic defense systems, including an advanced air defense system in the Kermanshah area, and that it was continuing to target missile launchers across Iran.
Israel's Mossad launched a Farsi-language Telegram channel on Saturday (February 28), addressed to "Our Iranian brothers and sisters," urging them to follow updates and saying, "Together we will return Iran to its glorious days."
The situation remains fluid and fast-moving. Under Article 111 of the Iranian constitution, if Khamenei were confirmed dead, a three-member council — comprising the president, the head of the judiciary, and a jurist from the Guardian Council — would temporarily assume his duties until a new supreme leader is appointed. No official confirmation of Khamenei's death has been issued by any government as of Saturday afternoon (February 28).