Iranian media confirms Ayatollah’s death

Iranian state media confirmed that the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in U.S.–Israeli airstrikes that targeted key sites across the country.

“To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return,” the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported, adding that several members of Khamenei’s family were also killed in the attacks.

U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier announced the death of the 86-year-old cleric, describing him as “one of the most evil people in history.” A senior Israeli government source told The Independent that Khamenei was killed in a strike that destroyed his compound.

The strikes followed Trump’s declaration that the United States and Israel had launched “major combat operations” aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme and removing its leadership.

The violence has resulted in heavy civilian casualties. According to a local governor, at least 108 people, most of them children, were killed in a strike on a girls’ primary school in southern Iran. Iranian media, citing the Red Crescent, reported that overall deaths from the bombardment had reached at least 201.

Trump said U.S. military operations could continue throughout the week and for as long as “necessary,” while Israel announced a fresh wave of strikes on Tehran on Sunday.

In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened what it called its “most intense offensive operation” against American and Israeli bases. Shortly afterward, explosions were reported in Dubai and Doha for a second consecutive day as Iran launched retaliatory strikes.

The escalating exchanges have left hundreds dead, according to Iranian state media, and triggered retaliatory attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets, raising fears of a broader regional conflict that could persist for weeks or longer.