Confusion and sharply conflicting claims are emerging over the fate of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, amid a widening wave of US and Israeli strikes and Iranian retaliation across the region.
Earlier, Reuters and several Israeli media outlets reported that Khamenei had been killed, citing unnamed “senior” Israeli officials.
The reports quickly reverberated across global media, but there has been no official confirmation from Tehran.
The head of public relations at the supreme leader’s office dismissed the claims as “mental warfare,” according to Iranian state media.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency and Mehr News Agency reported that Khamenei remains “steadfast and firm in commanding the field.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, told America's NBC News that “as far as I know,” the supreme leader and other senior officials are in good health.
Trump: “We Feel That That Is a Correct Story”
US President Donald Trump offered his clearest remarks yet on the reports, telling NBC News: “We feel that that is a correct story.”
In a separate interview with ABC News, Trump said he believes “a lot” of Iran’s leadership has been killed in US and Israeli strikes.
“A lot of it is, yeah. But we don’t know all, but a lot of it is,” he said, adding that operations would continue “as long as we wanted to.”
Trump further claimed that “most” of the people who “make all the decisions” in Iran are “gone.”
Israel Claims Senior Iranian Officials Killed
In a televised address, Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin said Israel had killed several top Iranian officials in the latest round of attacks.
Among those named was Ali Shamkhani, a former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a close adviser to Khamenei.
Shamkhani previously survived an Israeli strike on his Tehran home in June 2025.
Defrin also claimed the deaths of Mohammad Pakpour, a commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Amir Nasirzadeh.
He said Israeli warplanes targeted multiple locations across Iran, particularly missile launcher sites, but did not provide a timeframe for how long operations would continue.
Iranian Warnings and Retaliation
Iranian officials responded with defiance. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that Iran’s armed forces and people would deliver “an unforgettable lesson” to what he described as “international oppressive” forces.
The public relations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said third and fourth waves of “retaliatory” strikes were under way, targeting US and Israeli positions.
According to a statement carried by the state news agency IRNA, targets included the Israeli Navy base in Haifa port, Ramat David Airbase, the Ministry of Defense complex in the Hakirya area, and military-industrial sites in Beit HaShamash and Ashdod.
Explosions in Doha and Tel Aviv
Regional tensions have spilled beyond Iran and Israel.
In Doha, the loudest explosions of the day were heard overhead, with reporters on the ground counting between 15 and 20 blasts.
Visible interceptions were seen in the skies over the Qatari capital, marking what observers described as the most intense wave so far.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said it summoned Iran’s ambassador, Ali Saleh Abadi, to express “strong protest, deep displeasure and categorical rejection” of the targeting of Qatari territory.
Officials said the attacks violated international law and Qatar’s sovereignty and warned of “serious repercussions” for bilateral relations if they continued.
In Israel, Channel 12 reported a loud explosion in central parts of the country following a missile barrage from Iran.
The newspaper Israel Hayom said a missile fell in Tel Aviv, where air raid sirens were sounding.
