Iranian state television on Sunday confirmed the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, without referring to a massive US and Israeli attack on his residence.
A presenter on state television announced Khamenei’s death at 5:00 am (0130 GMT), as the channel broadcast archive images with a black banner as a sign of mourning. Khamenei, 86, had been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989.
Iran’s judiciary also confirmed that US and Israeli strikes killed the chief of the Revolutionary Guards and another top security advisor.
The Guards’ commander, General Mohammad Pakpour, and Ali Shamkhani, the head of the national defense council, were “martyred” in Saturday’s attacks, the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan online news portal reported.
Iranian media added that Khamenei’s daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were also killed in US-Israeli strikes.
