According to reports at Axios and Reuters, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini was killed in Saturday's air strikes. Yechiel Leiter, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, confirmed the news to U.S. officials shortly after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his nation and said that there many signs indicating Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "is no longer."
🚨Breaking: Israeli ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter told U.S. officials that Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has been killed Per Axios https://t.co/9MwOTxCv1F pic.twitter.com/810IN2StZP
— OSZ (@OpenSourceZone) February 28, 2026
Benjamin Netanyahu: "We have destroyed the compound of Khamenei in the heart of Tehran. This brutal dictator sent terror across the world, tormented the Iranian people, and sought to destroy Israel. Many signs indicate that this tyrant is no more." pic.twitter.com/a6DYv6CryJ
— Ekenemchukwu (@e_ekenem) February 28, 2026
Netanyahu said, in part:
"This morning we destroyed the compound of the tyrant Khamenei.
"There are many signs that this tyrant is no longer. This morning we eliminated senior officials in the ayatollahs' regime, Revolutionary Guards commanders, senior figures in the nuclear program - and we will continue. In the next few days, we will hit thousands more targets of the terror regime."
Senior Israeli officials also confirmed to Fox News that Khameini had been killed.
People in Tehran are celebrating:
Tehran is celebrating 🦁 https://t.co/HcFTYNS8gh pic.twitter.com/ncLjPPF1Aw
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) February 28, 2026
Khameini, 86, had ruled Iran since 1989. He was forced into hiding last June after strikes by Israel and the U.S. that killed several close associates and Revolutionary Guard commanders and destroyed nuclear and missile facilities.
Reports suggest that many of the regime's top leaders also assumed room temperature in Saturday's strikes; as damage assessments are completed we'll know more about how many of Iran's top leaders, if any, remain.
(This is a developing story.)
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