According to unverified reports from Israel, Iran’s political and religious leader Ali Khamenei-who has been in power since 1989-has allegedly been found dead. The Iranian government has denied the claim. Israeli insiders say the body was discovered under rubble in Tehran after airstrikes carried out by Israel and the United States.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have shown a documentary of the site on Israeli television. On Saturday he stated that there were indications the country’s supreme leader was “no longer with us” though it was unclear whether he had seen any images of a corpse at that point.
A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry immediately issued a denial, insisting that Khamenei was “safe and sound”. The 86‑year‑old leader has been the most powerful figure in the Islamic Republic since 1989. Prior to that, he served as president from 1981 under Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the 1979 Islamic Revolution.