US President Donald Trump has stated that there are grounds to believe that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was eliminated during a large-scale attack on Tehran. Citing data from the Israeli side, the American leader noted that a significant part of the top political and military leadership of the Islamic Republic has already ceased to exist. This is reported by ABC News, writes UNN.
Details
Although official Washington is currently awaiting final confirmation, Trump stressed that he considers reports of the Supreme Leader's death to be true, adding that "many of their leaders are already gone."
Elimination of top military command and intelligence
The Israel Defense Forces backed up the US President's statement with their own report, according to which almost all of Iran's top defense leadership was destroyed during Saturday's strikes.
I don't want to say anything definitive until I see what's happening, but we believe he is. And many of their leaders are already gone.
There are signs that Khamenei is no more - Netanyahu28.02.26, 21:53
Among the presumed dead are Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and IRGC Ground Forces Commander Mohammad Pakpour. This large-scale purge of the command vertical was part of the allies' strategy to paralyze the management of Iranian armed forces and nuclear deterrence capabilities.
Tehran's reaction and attempts to deny losses
In contrast to the statements of the US and Israel, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an official denial of the death of its leaders. Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei assured that Ayatollah Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are safe and continue to perform their duties. However, Iran's disregard for demands to provide video evidence of their being alive only strengthens the suspicions of international observers regarding the real state of affairs in Tehran's corridors of power.
Israel's Ambassador to Washington Confirms Death of Ayatollah Khamenei - Axios28.02.26, 22:17