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‘Ali Khamenei alive’: Iran media counters Israel, US claims about Supremo; Trump makes big leadership remark
Conflicting reports about Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death emerged on Saturday
Al Khamenei's death news: Conflicting reports about Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death emerged on Saturday. While multiple US-based media reports, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and even President Donald Trump suggested that the 86-year-old was killed, Iranian publications stated that he is 'steadfast and firm in commanding the field'.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump addressed these reports. He said: "We feel that that is a correct story." The 79-year-old added that most of Iran's senior leadership is ‘gone’.
“The people who make all the decisions, most of them are gone.”
Read More: Why Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba is unlikely to be Iran's next Supreme Leader
Iranian media suggests Khamenei not dead
Iran's Tasnim and Mehr news agencies reported that Khamenei is still commanding the field. However, they offered no evidence.
Regime change in Iran
Trump also spoke about regime change in Iran. Asked about how long the US-Israel operations will last, he told ABC News: “As long as we wanted to, actually. But it’s done such damage already. It’s like, they are incapacitated, essentially, as long as we want to.”
Asked about the next leadership and if a leader has been identified, POTUS added: "Yes. We have a very good idea."
Netanyahu on Iran Supremo
In a nationally televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were "growing signs" that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday.
“There are many signs that Khamenei is no longer alive,” Netanyahu told reporters. He further urged Iranian citizens to “flood the streets and finish the job”.
Iran's response
As reports about Khamenei's death emerged, an Iranian official gave a warning to Israel and the US.
"We will make the Zionist criminals and the vile Americans regret it,” Iran’s senior security official Ali Larijani wrote in a post on his X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hell-bound oppressors of the international order,” he added.
Situation in Iran
As the attack on Iran unfolded, President Trump urged the Iranian public to "seize control of your destiny" by rising up against the Islamic leadership. In a video announcing the "major combat operations," Trump told Iranians that "when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."
Iranian state media, citing the Red Crescent, on Saturday evening said at least 201 people had been killed and more than 700 injured. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and US military bases in the region, and exchanges of fire continued into the night.
Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of the 86-year-old Khamenei. Before Israeli officials confirmed the death, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were alive "as far as I know." He called the attack “unprovoked, illegal and absolutely illegitimate.”
(With AP inputs)
