- The primer said that this morning Israel eliminated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, senior Iranian regime officials, senior nuclear officials, and that in the coming days, “we will hit thousands of targets of the terror regime.”
- Netanyahu went on to say that Israel will create the conditions for the Iranian people to “free itself from the chains of dictatorship.”
- The operation being carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran “will continue as long as is necessary,” said Netanyahu, “and stamina is necessary.”
- Furthermore, Netanyahu thanked President Donald Trump for his “historic leadership,” describing him as a “leader who keeps his word.”
- Netanyahu said that the operation will “lead to peace, true peace,” noting that Israel went to war to “fundamentally change” the situation in which Iran was on its way to a nuclear weapon that would enable it to drastically increase its threats against its neighbors.
Following Netanyahu’s statement, Israeli officials told Hebrew media that Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike in the morning. Satellite imagery published by The New York Times earlier in the day revealed that Khamenei’s compound in the Iranian capital, Tehran, was destroyed.
Channel 12 later provided more details. In a report, the news channel said that Netanyahu and Trump were shown an image of the body of Khamenei, after it was recovered by Iranian authorities from his compound.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter updated American officials that Israel had succeeded in killing Khamenei, a source familiar with the matter also told The Times of Israel, confirming another similar report by the American Axios news site.
Following these reports, Khamenei’s top aide Ali Larijani publishes a statement on his X account vowing revenge, without confirming the death of the Supreme Leader.
- “We will make the Zionist criminals and the shameless Americans regret their actions. The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,” Larijani wrote.
Amid these reports, the Israeli military announced that it was able to verify the death of a number of senior Iranian officials, including:
- Ali Shamkhani, a former IRGC Navy chief and Iranian army chief, and a top adviser to Iran’s Khamenei. Israel targeted him in last June’s war, and initially believed it had killed him.
- Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the IRGC. The IDF said that Pakpour led Iran’s “plan to destroy Israel,” and he was responsible for missile and drone attacks on Israel.
- Salah Asadi, the chief of intelligence in Iran’s military emergency headquarters, and the senior intelligence officer of Iran’s armed forces’ general staff. The IDF said that he was also involved in Iran’s “plan to destroy Israel.”
- Mohammad Shirazi, the chief of Khamenei’s military bureau since 1989. The IDF said that he was responsible for “the liaison between the senior commanders of the armed forces and the leader, and was a central figure in the top ranks of the Iranian terror regime.”
- Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran’s minister of defense, and a former chief of the Iranian air force and deputy chief of staff. The IDF said that he was responsible for “industries producing long-range missiles and weapons transferred to regime proxies, as well as for the SPND organization, which advanced projects in the fields of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.”
- Hossein Jabal-Amelian, chairman of SPND. The IDF said that he was responsible for “developing advanced technologies and weapons for the regime” and advanced “projects for years in the fields of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.”
Reza Mozafari-Nia, a former chairman of SPND. The IDF said he “advanced efforts to develop nuclear weapons.”
Iran has not yet confirmed the death of any of these commanders, and some media reports that came out from the Islamic Republic even denied that Khamenei was targeted.
The killing of the Supreme Leader will likely take the ongoing war into a whole new level. The response of Iran and its allies in the Middle East will likely go beyond missile and drone strikes.
Untraditional attacks could take place, and the war could drag on for months.
Source: SOUTHFRONT