US President Donald Trump announced that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had died hours after a joint US-Israel military strike on the Islamic Republic, describing him as one of the most ruthless figures in world history and asserting that his killing delivered justice for both the Iranian people and those who lost their lives under his rule. Iranian media reported that four of Khamenei’s family members — including his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and grandson — were also killed in the operation, which allegedly involved around 30 bombs targeting his residence, with reports suggesting Israel had been planning the strike for months and executed it when senior leaders were gathered at one location, although an official confirmation from Tehran is still awaited.
Born on April 19, 1939, in Mashhad, Iran, to Islamic scholar Sayyid Javad Khamenei, Khamenei held several key positions before assuming the role of Supreme Leader in 1989, having previously served as Iran’s president in 1981 following the assassination of Mohammad Ali Rajai, becoming the first cleric to hold the presidency and later emerging as the country’s most powerful political and religious authority for more than three decades.