Iran has confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Newsone Nigeria reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed, state media confirms
United States President Donald Trump earlier said Khamenei had been killed by US-Israeli strikes across Iran.
An intelligence source and a military source told the BBC’s US partner CBS that around 40 Iranian officials were killed in the air raids, including Khamenei. Israel earlier identified seven officials it says it killed.
Trump says bombing will continue, and that “this is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country” – see his statement in full
In response, Iran launched attacks throughout the Middle East. Suspected Iranian strikes have been reported in Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait – places with US military bases, or that are allied to the US.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Ayatollah Khamenei was killed early Saturday morning at his office “while he was carrying out tasks”.
Using satellite imagery, BBC Verify earlier confirmed significant damage to parts of the Leadership House compound, which is Khamenei’s office in Tehran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Tasnim News Agency said that Khamenei’s death at his office is proof that reports that he was hiding out were the “enemy’s psychological warfare”.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned they will attack US bases and Israel.
“The most devastating offensive operation in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces will begin toward the occupied territories and American terrorist bases in just moments,” it says.
A statement confirming the death of the Supreme Leader was published on his X account. The statement read thus: “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Among the faithful are men who fulfill what they have pledged to Allah: there are some among them who have fulfilled their pledge, and some of them who still wait, and they have not changed in the least (Holy Quran 33:23).”
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Among the faithful are men who fulfill what they have pledged to Allah: there are some among them who have fulfilled their pledge, and some of them who still wait, and they have not changed in the least (Holy Quran 33:23). pic.twitter.com/f1JizOKWQD
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 1, 2026
Meanwhile, more than 200 people have been killed across Iran, the Red Crescent says. At least 108 were killed when US and Israeli strikes hit a girls’ school, Iran says.
