Trump: "Khamenei Dead, Opportunity for Iranians to Take Back Their Country" (Update) [US-Iran Airstrikes]

Official Announcement of Khamenei’s Death on Social Media
Iran Strongly Denies, Claiming "He Is Alive"

Reuters Yonhap News

On the 28th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump announced via his social networking service, Truth Social, that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has died.

President Trump stated, "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, has died," adding, "Khamenei could not evade our intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems, and there was nothing other leaders killed alongside him could do." He continued, "This is the greatest opportunity for the Iranian people to take back their country," and emphasized, "Hopefully, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian police will peacefully join forces with Iranian patriots to restore the greatness of their nation."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also stated that there are several indications supporting the rumor of Khamenei's death. In a video address released that day, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "There are many signs that this tyrant (Khamenei) is no longer alive," and stressed, "The Israeli military has destroyed his stronghold."

According to CNN, the targets of the U.S. and Iranian airstrikes that day included Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Seyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and other senior Iranian officials. Both inside and outside the U.S. military, it is estimated that between five and ten of Iran's top leadership were killed.

The Iranian side is strongly denying the rumors of Khamenei's death. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with NBC News that Supreme Leader Khamenei is still alive. When asked whether Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Pezeshkian are still alive, he emphasized, "As far as I know, yes, they are alive."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.