President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.
“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump posted.
Khamenei has led the Islamic Republic since 1989 as the country’s highest political and religious authority.
Iranian officials have not confirmed the news.
Israeli officials said they were “99% sure” that Khamenei was killed in an earlier strike and is working on the final stages of verification. A senior U.S. official familiar with the matter says the U.S. believes Khamenei is dead based on communication from Israeli officials.
Trump told NBC News that “most” Iranian leaders were killed, “not only from the one attack, but from two others.”
“There were three attacks,” he added. “And you know, you know about the one that was covered, but there were two other attacks, which inflicted very great losses on their leadership.”
Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint” bombing in Iran “will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”
He claimed Iranian security forces and members of the regime’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were already seeking immunity.
“We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us,” Trump said in the post. “As I said last night, ‘Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!’”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz said the attack on Iran is a matter “of global security, and to that end, the U.S. is taking lawful actions.”
