After Trump, Iran's State TV Confirms Ayatollah Khamenei Killed In Strikes

"The Supreme Leader of Iran Has Reached Martyrdom," state broadcaster IRIB reported Sunday morning.

01 Mar 2026, 01:38 · NDTV

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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reportedly killed in US-Israel strikes on Tehran
Iranian state media announced Khamenei and several family members died in the recent attacks
Khamenei had no designated successor, raising uncertainty over Iran's political future and potential conflict

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Tehran:

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed, Iran's state media confirmed, after the United States and Israel launched the most ambitious attack on Iranian targets in decades. It comes after the US and Israel said Khamenei was killed following a barrage of joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.

“The Supreme Leader of Iran Has Reached Martyrdom,” state broadcaster IRIB reported on Sunday morning.

The assassination of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, could throw Tehran's future into doubt and raise the prospect of a protracted conflict, given Iranian threats of retaliation.

Trump Announced Khamenei's Death

Trump, in a post on X, said the death of the 86-year-old Iranian leader is “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.” The death occurred after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites.

The American commander-in-chief said the United States worked closely with Israel to target the man who had led Iran since 1989.

Soon after Trump's post, the Iranian Supreme Leader's X account posted a cryptic message raising doubts about Trump's claim. The post, written in Persian, read: "In the name of Nami Haider (peace be upon him)."

How US Tracked Khamenei

Trump, making the biggest foreign-policy gamble of his presidency after campaigning for re-election as a "peace president," said the US-Israel joint operation against Iran was aimed at ending a decades-long threat from Iran and ensuring it could not develop a nuclear weapon.

Intelligence and tracking systems monitored Khamenei's whereabouts, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, adding that "there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do."

The US leader reiterated calls for Iranians to topple the government but warned: "The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Khamenei's compound had been destroyed.

Other Top Iranians Leaders Killed

Three sources familiar with the matter told news agency Reuters that Iranian Defence Minister Amir Nasirzadeh and Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammed Pakpour were among those killed in the attacks.

Israel's military said it had confirmed that five other senior military commanders were also dead, including Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader. Iranian media had said Khamenei's daughter, grandchild, son-in-law and daughter-in-law were also killed.

Iran has called the strikes unprovoked and illegal and responded with missiles fired at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host US bases.

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