Donald Trump has confirmed that Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes overnight.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” the US president wrote on Truth Social, adding that it is the “single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country”.
It comes after a senior Israeli government source toldThe Independent that the clerical ruler, who has overseen Iran’s transformation into one of the Middle East’s dominant powers since 1989, was killed in a strike that flattened his compound.
Donald Trump confirmed that the US had carried out “major combat operations” in Iran. The Israeli military later said that around 200 warplanes were involved in the attack.
At least 108 people were killed in a strike on a girls’ primary school in southern Iran, most of whom were children, the local governor said. The Iranian Red Crescent says at least 201 were killed in the US-Israeli strikes, according to Iranian media.
Iranian forces retaliated with strikes on US and Israeli military bases across the Middle East, after cities including Tehran were struck on Saturday morning. Two world-famous hotels in Dubai were also struck by Iranian projectiles and debris.
At least 333 Iranian civilians were killed or injured in strikes, report claims
At least 333 Iranian civilians were killed or injured by the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Saturday, according to HRANA, a U.S.-based Iranian rights group.
“Damage was reported to military sites, dual-use infrastructure, and schools, while nationwide internet disruptions significantly hindered the flow of information,” the group said in a statement.
Iranian state media confirms that Khamenei has died
State media in Iran confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, was killed following U.S.-Israeli strikes.
“To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return,” the news agency said on Saturday evening.
Hours earlier, President Trump announced that Khamenei, 86, had died.
IN PHOTOS: Demonstrators take to streets of LA to celebrate strikes on Iran
On Saturday, demonstrators took to the streets of Los Angeles — home to a large population of Iranian-Americans — to celebrate the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, which resulted in the death of the country’s supreme leader.
One dead and seven injured after drone attack at Dubai airport
One person has died and seven were injured after a drone attack at the Zayed International Airport in Dubai, the airport announced on Saturday. The deceased individual was described as an “Asian national.”
Democratic senator balks at Trump’s ‘imminent threat’ claims
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, balked at President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran posed an “imminent threat” to the United States.
“I can say this. I’m on two committees that give me access to a lot of classified information,” Kaine told CNN on Saturday evening. “There was no imminent threat from Iran to the United States that warrants sending our sons and daughters into yet another war in the Middle East, and I’m going to do everything I can to stop it.”
When Trump announced the joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran, he explained that the mission’s goal was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
Supreme leader’s family members were killed in strikes, state media says
Members of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s family were killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, according to a report.
Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild and son-in-law have died, The Guardian reported, citing Iranian state media.
Earlier on Saturday, President Trump announced that Khamenei, the longtime leader of Iran, had been killed. He described him as “one of the most evil people in History.”
There has been no official confirmation from Iranian officials that Khamenei died.
Most Americans think Trump should have sought congressional approval for strikes: poll
A majority of Americans, 56 percent, believe President Donald Trump should have sought congressional authorization before using military force in Iran, according to a new YouGov survey. Meanwhile, 25 percent disagree.
At the same time, 50 percent of respondents said they disapprove of Trump’s handling of relations with the Middle Eastern nation, while 35 percent said they approve.
US and Iranian ambassadors exchange barbs at UN emergency meeting
The ambassadors of the U.S. and Iran exchanged barbs during a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on Saturday, after the U.S. and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran.
“My advice to the representative of the U.S. is to be polite,” Iranian Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravan said during the session. “It would be better for yourself and the country you represent.”
U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz responded by going on a tirade about the Iranian government.
“I’m not going to dignify this with another response, especially as this representative sits here in this body representing a regime that has killed tens of thousands of its own people and imprisoned many more simply for wanting freedom from your tyranny,” Walz said.
Hegseth issues statement on Iran strikes, claiming US didn’t start the conflict
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a statement on the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, claiming the U.S. didn’t start the conflict but will “finish it.”
“The Iranian regime had their chance, yet refused to make a deal — and now they are suffering the consequences,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X on Saturday evening.
“The United States did not start this conflict, but we will finish it,” the former Fox News host added. “If you kill or threaten Americans anywhere in the world — as Iran has — then we will hunt you down, and we will kill you.”
Ayatollah Khamenei is dead. Here’s who could lead Iran next
The US and Israel struck dozens of targets in the attacks, including the supreme leader’s compound. Iranian authorities say the strikes killed at least hundreds of people on Saturday morning.
If Trump’s claims are correct, it brings the curtain down on 37 years of the clerical ruler’s leadership of Iran, in which he oversaw its transition from a war-torn country to one of the Middle East’s major powers.
Here, The Independent looks at the different groups who form Iran’s fragmented opposition and who could vie for the Iranian leadership in the event of a power vacuum.
Source: independent.co.uk