Iran’s Supreme Leader is dead, Israeli officials claim

Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, multiple Israeli officials have claimed.

His body was found under rubble in his compound in Iran after US and Israeli airstrikes.

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have been shown a photograph of his body.

‘A photo of the body was shown to Netanyahu and Trump,’ reported Channel 12.

‘Senior Israeli officials were informed of Khamenei’s elimination. His body was recovered from the rubble of his compound,’ reported public broadcaster Kan. There has been no confirmation of Khamenei’s death from Tehran.

Donald Trump has been asked directly about reports that Iran’s supreme leader has been killed in the US-Israeli strikes.

Asked by NBC News if he has had the reports confirmed or thought Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead, Trump said: ‘I don’t want to comment on that, but the rumour is, and the word is, that he has been killed.’

When asked on how and when he will get confirmation about the reported death, Trump replied: ‘I’ve spoken to a lot of people, beyond, and we feel certain, we feel – we feel that that is a correct story.’

With rumours swirling over the fate of Ali Khamenei, following Israeli claims that Iran’s Supreme Leader was dead and his body found, Iranian media outlets have reported the opposite.

Iranian media outlets have instead said Khamenei is ‘commanding the field’.

The son of a British woman detained with her husband in Iran has said he is ‘extremely worried’ for their safety.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were arrested in January 2025 while travelling through Iran on an around-the-world motorcycle trip and have been detained in Tehran’s Evin prison on espionage charges they strongly deny ever since.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, Joe Bennett, Ms Foreman’s son, said: ‘We were extremely relieved to hear from our parents this morning but remain incredibly worried about their safety. Our hearts go out to the people of Iran and all others in the region who were impacted by the bombings today.’

Aerial footage posted to social media by U.S. Central Command showed American munitions striking what appeared to be a variety of targets, from drones to buildings, in Iran.

The video montage shows black-and-white footage of what appears to be a drone on a runway, a radar tower, a missile battery, and a compound of buildings all being struck by what seemed to be bombs or missiles and followed by large explosions.

The footage features the words “unclassified” at the top of the screen and a targeting reticle in the middle.

CENTCOM didn’t provide more details about the video, but said that it was “delivering an overwhelming and unrelenting blow” in a caption that accompanied the post.

Newly released pictures show smoke rising from a burning building in Manama, Bahrain, which was hit by an Iranian drone strike, after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran.

The Revolutionary Guard said earlier in a statement today that Iran’s military had struck the command of the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain as well as US bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and military targets in Israel.

Iran was rebuilding infrastructure for its nuclear program that was destroyed in last year’s strikes, a senior US official told reporters.

The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorised to speak on the record about Trump’s decision-making process before the strikes.

The official said that intelligence also showed that Iran had developed the capability to produce its own high-quality centrifuges, an important step in developing the highly enriched uranium needed for weapons.

Israeli army spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin announced that the IDF has assassinated a number of senior Iranian officials, including the Minister of Defence and the commander of the Revolutionary Guards.

Yvette Cooper has condemned Iran’s strikes on Dubai.

The Foreign Secretary said tonight: ‘The scenes in the Palm Hotel in Dubai are awful. The UK condemns these indiscriminate Iranian strikes.’

People are celebrating across Tehran after Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said there were ‘growing signs’ that Iran’s supreme leader is ‘gone’.

Residents of the Iranian capital have been honking their horns and screaming in celebration, the BBC reports.

Four people have been injured in a retaliatory Iranian missile strike on the world-famous five-star Fairmont hotel in Dubai.

Dramatic footage and images captured the moment the Palm Jumeirah Fairmont Hotel in Dubai was hit and the front of the building’s exterior was set ablaze by an ultra-fast Shahed drone.

The Dubai media office confirmed four people were injured in the strikes on the hotel, with witnesses saying ambulances had rushed to the scene.

‘Dubai Civil Defence has confirmed that the resulting fire is now under control. Four individuals sustained injuries and have been transferred to medical facilities,’ it added