Trump Claims Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei Killed in Joint US-Israeli Strikes

US President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed in joint American and Israeli strikes targeting the Islamic Republic, though there was no confirmation from Tehran and messages from Khamenei’s official social media account suggested he remains alive.“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, describing the reported killing as “not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all great Americans, and those people from many countries throughout the world [who] have been killed or mutilated by [him] and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS.”

A post published on Khamenei’s official X account after Trump’s announcement appeared to indicate that the supreme leader was still alive, though its authenticity and timing could not be independently verified.According to Trump, Israel carried out the specific strike that targeted Khamenei, with the United States playing a significant supporting role and closely coordinating with Jerusalem.

He “was unable to avoid our intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders [who] have been killed along with him, could do,” Trump wrote.The president also claimed that multiple other Iranian leaders were killed in the operation, though he did not provide names or evidence.Trump described the moment as “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country,” asserting that members of Iran’s military, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with other security and police forces, were seeking immunity from the United States rather than continuing to fight.

Trump had called on Iranian security personnel to surrender in exchange for immunity, warning that failure to do so would result in “imminent death.”“Hopefully, the IRGC and police will peacefully merge with the Iranian patriots and work together as a unit to bring back the country to the greatness it deserves,” he wrote.Trump further asserted that Iran had been “very much destroyed and, even, obliterated” in a single day of strikes. He added that “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue throughout the week “or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”