Guwahati: US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in airstrikes carried out by US and Israeli forces.
Iranian state media also reported that several members of Khamenei’s family, including his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law, died in those strikes.
Iran responded earlier by launching missiles and drones at Israel and US military sites in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Iranians there was strong evidence Khamenei had been killed and encouraged them to continue the effort. He said the leader’s compound was destroyed and that senior commanders and nuclear officials were among those killed.
An official from Iran’s Supreme Leader’s office dismissed reports of Khamenei’s death as psychological tactics by hostile forces, according to state media.
According to US Central Command, American strikes targeted Iranian military infrastructure that posed a direct threat, including Revolutionary Guard sites, air defenses, missile and drone launch locations, and air bases.
Israel’s military said Iran fired “dozens” of missiles at its territory. Many were intercepted, and no serious injuries were reported, but attacks continued into the evening.
Across the Middle East, governments reacted strongly to Iran’s attacks on neighboring Arab states, while many did not criticize the earlier US and Israeli operations.
Nations with diplomatic relations with Israel, such as Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, condemned Iranian missile strikes on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE.
The European Union will convene an emergency security meeting on Monday to address rising tensions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, stressing the need to prevent further escalation after Iran’s recent assaults.