Trump: Iran’s Ayatollah 'is dead'; killed in Israel, US war strikes

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in attacks launched by Israel and the U.S.

That is according to U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Trump’s post on the Ayatollah’s demise came after Israeli sources told the Associated Press, Fox News and other outlets of the Iranian theocrat’s death.

“He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do,” Trump said of the Iranian supreme leader. “This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”

Fox News is reporting, citing Israeli sources, that Khamenei, 86, and dozens of other leaders of the authoritarian Iranian regime were killed in strikes launched early Saturday.

Trump’s post and media reports regarding the Iranian’s leader’s death came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were indications that the Ayatollah was “gone.”

Trump, who ordered the war strikes on Iran early Saturday morning, told NBC News that bombings killed senior Iranian leaders and said reports of the Ayatollah’s demise were “correct.”

Iran has denied the Ayatollah’s death.

U.S. and Israeli drone and missile strikes and other bombings have also targeted Iran’s military and nuclear program.

In response, Iran has launched strikes against Israel, Dubai and U.S. bases and facilities in Iraq and other countries in the region.

Trump said the bombings were needed to dismantle Iran’s nuclear aspirations and military assets. The U.S. administration and Netanyahu want to see regime change in Tehran, where autocratic Islamists have ruled since the 1979 revolution against the American-backed shah.

Iran has been an adversary of the U.S. and Israel for decades. The Middle East war could impact flows of oil and petroleum prices.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, voiced support for Trump's actions.

"The Iranian regime is the world’s largest state sponsor of terror & waged war against the United States and its allies for nearly 50 years. I support President Trump’s actions to keep our nation safe and aid the people of Iran in their fight for liberty. Grateful for the President’s strong moral clarity and for the men and women in our great military," Daines said in a social media statement.

Democrats faulted Trump for not getting war approvals from Congress. Progressives and anti-war activists are also opposing the U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran.