Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei Is Dead; Trump Says
U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, is dead, following a major joint military operation by the United States and Israel targeting Iranian leadership and strategic sites.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that Khamenei — whom he labeled “one of the most evil people in history” — “is dead,” and called the development “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country.”
Trump’s message framed the reported death as justice for victims of Iran’s policies and longstanding tensions with the West, and he reiterated his earlier appeal to Iranians to rise up against the country’s ruling establishment.
In a separate interview with NBC News, Trump said the U.S. “believes” the reports of Khamenei’s death are accurate, though he stopped short of offering definitive proof. “We feel that that is a correct story,” he told the network, adding that “most” of the decision‑making leadership of Iran appears to have been killed in the strikes.
The claims come amid heavy airstrikes carried out Saturday, described by U.S. and Israeli officials as part of a sustained military campaign. The assault has prompted strong reactions internationally, with Iran denying initial claims that Khamenei has been killed. Tehran’s Foreign Ministry has not independently confirmed his death, and information from Iranian state sources remains limited.
Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC, has told Al Jazeera that Iran “has a plan” in place in the event that the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is confirmed to have been killed.
“There will probably be a council that will be set up to run the country. It may already have been running the country, as far as we know,” she said, adding that the real question is “how does Donald Trump define victory.”
“If killing the Supreme Leader is sufficient for him, he may just say, ‘Well, I won,’ and stop this in a day or so. That would be entirely characteristic. He can say that he achieved regime change, even if it’s basically the same system in place,” Slavin said.
Commenting on Israel’s attacks, Slavin called them as “theatrics,” saying that the Israelis are simply “enjoying an opportunity to hit everything they possibly can and degrade the Iranian regime even further.”
“As we know, Israel loves targeted assassinations and will be brandishing the scalp of Ayatollah Khamenei, so to speak, if he indeed is dead. Will it really be a change?”
