In a historic and potentially game-changing strike, Israel has killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a precision airstrike deep inside Tehran.
According to Israeli and U.S. intelligence sources, the 85-year-old leader was struck late Wednesday night while sheltering in a heavily fortified underground complex in northern Tehran. The Israeli Air Force executed the high-risk operation using advanced stealth fighters and bunker-busting munitions as part of the intensified campaign alongside American forces in Operation Epic Fury.
Israeli officials described the strike as “precise, necessary, and long overdue,” stating it was carried out after confirmed intelligence showed Khamenei was directing ongoing missile and drone attacks on Israel.
President Donald Trump immediately reacted, calling the elimination “a monumental victory for the civilized world.” He stated: “The number one terrorist in the world is ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Israel did what had to be done. This regime is collapsing.”
The IRGC has confirmed the death in a brief statement, vowing “fierce and merciless revenge.” Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader’s son, is expected to ᴀssume immediate control and has already been declared the new de facto leader by hardline factions.
Tehran remains engulfed in flames from 12 days of relentless U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that have destroyed over 5,000 targets. With Khamenei’s death, Iran’s command structure faces a dangerous power vacuum at the worst possible moment.
The strike comes as British fighter jets have joined the coalition, UK Typhoons now flying combat missions over Iran. Iranian retaliation has already included má´€ssive cluster bomb attacks on Israeli cities and drone strikes on U.S. bases across the Gulf.
Oil prices have surged violently past $318 per barrel in global markets as traders fear chaotic revenge attacks and the total collapse of stability in the Persian Gulf.
The killing of Ayatollah Khamenei marks one of the most significant leadership decapitations in modern Middle East history. While it may accelerate the collapse of the Iranian regime, it also carries the extreme risk of triggering desperate, leaderless retaliation from the IRGC and its proxies.
This is an extremely fast-moving, historic, and highly dangerous moment in the Iran-Israel-U.S. war. The death of the Supreme Leader could either end the conflict quickly — or ignite an even more violent and unpredictable phase.
Stay alert. The next few hours will be critical for the entire region and the world.
