A senior Israeli official said to Reuters on Sunday, March 1, 2026, that the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is dead and his body has been found. It comes after a devastating wave of attacks by around 200 Israeli jets and U.S. assets that struck nearly 500 strategic spots across Iran, including the Supreme Leader’s highly fortified compound in central Tehran.
Confirmation Amid the Ruins
Even though the Iranian government doesn’t yet issue an official death notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared an end, in a televised address, that there are “many signs” that the 86-year-old leader is “no longer with us.” Israeli intelligence was shown documentation showing Khamenei’s body was recovered from the rubble of his main residence, according to reports by The Jerusalem Post and Channel 12. They believe that even though he was buried deep in an underground bunker, the sheer power of the “bunker-buster” munitions fired in the initial stage of the attack killed him.
Conflicting Reports and “Mental Warfare”
Tehran’s response has been all confusion and denial. Earlier yesterday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed NBC News that Khamenei was alive “as far as I know.” The failure to provide a public address from the Leader, who has not been seen since the strikes began, has only increased the Israeli claims. An Iranian official quoted in state media dismissed the reports as "Zionist mental warfare," but none supplied any evidence of life. Satellite imagery from the Airbus site has shown multiple structures inside the Supreme Leader’s complex entirely leveled, with thick black smoke still billowing out of the building.
The Power Vacuum
The death of Khamenei, whose rule has lasted since 1989, puts Iran in its most vulnerable position in decades. With President Masoud Pezeshkian himself under threat and dozens of Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) commanders said to have been killed, the Assembly of Experts is said to be holding an emergency session to discuss succession. U.S. President Donald Trump has urged the Iranian people to “finish the job” and take over their government, indicating that the objective of the operation has moved from military devastation to total regime dissolution.
