Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there are “growing signs” that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is “gone” after US and Israeli strikes, Reuters reports.
He said there were many signs suggesting Khamenei may have been killed as a result of Israeli-U.S. strikes.
“This morning we eliminated senior officials in the ayatollahs’ regime, Revolutionary Guards commanders, senior figures in the nuclear program – and we will continue. In the next few days, we will hit thousands more targets of the terror regime,” Netanyahu said.
Meanwhile, Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Mehr reported that the Supreme Leader was “steadfast and firm in commanding the field” after an Israeli official told Reuters Khamenei had been killed and his body had been found.
Who is Ayatollah Khamenei
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been supreme leader since 1989, is the most powerful figure in Iran.
He is head of state and commander-in-chief.
He also has authority over the national police and the morality police.
Khamenei controls the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is in charge of internal security, and its volunteer wing, the Basij Resistance Force – used to quell dissent in Iran.
