TEHRAN (Kashmir English): Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been martyred in Israeli and US strikes, Iranian state media said on Sunday.
The government also announced 40 days of public mourning in the Islamic Republic.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were growing indications that the supreme leader was “gone”, as a senior Israeli official claimed Khamenei’s body had been found following an Israeli strike on his compound.
“Khamenei is no longer”
“This morning we destroyed the compound of the tyrant Khamenei,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “There are many signs that this tyrant is no longer. This morning we eliminated senior officials in the ayatollahs’ regime, Revolutionary Guards commanders, senior figures in the nuclear programme — and we will continue. In the next few days, we will hit thousands more targets of the terror regime.”
Israeli prime minister said Revolutionary Guards commanders and senior nuclear officials were killed while also calling on Iranian citizens to “flood the streets and finish the job”.
In response to the claims, Iranian authorities had said Khamenei was “safe and sound” and called on the people to remain vigilant and not be swayed by what they described as the enemy’s “mental warfare” after reports that he was allegedly killed in an Israeli air strike on Saturday.
Iranian state media quoted the head of public relations at the supreme leader’s office as saying: “The enemy is resorting to mental warfare, all should be aware.”
Separately, a senior Israeli official told a news agency that Khamenei was dead and his body had been found.
According to Israel’s military, its pilots had hit hundreds of targets across Iran, including strategic defence systems previously damaged in strikes last year.
It further said three sites where leaders had been holding a meeting were struck simultaneously, and several senior figures were killed.
