ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there are “many signs” indicating that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed as a result of Saturday’s strikes, while the Israeli military claimed to have assassinated several of Iran’s top military officials.

The United States and Israel on Saturday morning launched a large-scale military offensive across Iran, following months of escalating tensions between the two sides. The attacks targeted many of Iran’s political and military leadership, including Khamenei’s residence.

“This morning, in a powerful surprise strike, we destroyed the compound of the tyrant Khamenei in the heart of Tehran,” said Netanyahu in a message in the evening, adding that there are “many signs” that Khamenei is no longer alive.

Hours after Netanyahu’s speech, the Israeli military announced that top Khamenei aide Ali Shamkhani, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Mohammad Pakpour, and Khatam al-Anbiya intelligence chief Saleh Asadi were killed in Saturday's strikes.

There has been no confirmation from the Iranian side.

“For three and a half decades, this cruel tyrant spread terror around the world, oppressed his own people, and constantly, without pause, worked on the plan to destroy Israel,” the Israeli premier said.

Hours later, Israeli state media claimed that sources had no confirmed Khamenei’s death, while other outlets reported that his body had been “recovered”.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghei said earlier he was “not in a position to confirm anything” when asked if Khamenei was alive, but would later state that he was “safe and sound.”

Khamenei, 86, from Mashhad, has been the country’s highest political and religious authority for nearly 37 years, marking the longest-serving leader since the Islamic Revolution.

The Iranian supreme leader has been a leading opponent of the US and Israel, advancing the Islamic republic’s ideology by supporting regional proxies against both countries, and calling for their elimination.

US President Donald Trump, speaking to Axios on Saturday, said he could “go long and take over the whole thing,” or end the conflict “in two or three days” and tell the Iranians: “See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding your nuclear and missile programs.”

In an interview with ABC News, Trump said he has a “very good” idea on the identity of Iran’s next leadership. “A lot” of Iranian leaders have been killed in the US-Israeli strikes, according to Trump.

During the June war with Israel, Trump also said Washington knew Khamenei’s location and urged Iran to surrender, while Israeli officials suggested he could be targeted.

Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official and advisor to the supreme leader, on Saturday said: “We will make the Zionist criminals and the shameless Americans regret their actions,” in a post on X.  

Larijani added that the Iranian forces will “deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors.”

Khamenei was elected supreme leader on June 4, 1989, following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. At the time, Khamenei was serving as Iran’s president, a post he held for eight years from 1981 to 1989.