Iran’s Supreme Leader’s Fate Unclear After Major Strikes

The fate of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is unknown Saturday after a joint US-Israel attack leveled numerous buildings at the leader’s fortified compound.

Conflicting reports about whether Khamenei, 86, survived the bombing swirled in Iranian and Israeli media.

The Jewish State “assesses” that Khamenei was likely killed in the morning strike, Israel’s Channel 12 reported, citing unnamed intelligence sources.

Smoke rising from a missile strike in a city.
Smoke is seen rising in Tehran after strikes.
Ali Khamenei greeting a crowd in Tehran, Iran.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has presumably survived Operation Epic Fury.Anadolu via Getty Images

The TV station had earlier reported that the supreme leader had been “hurt at the very least.”

The outlet noted that the assessment was not based on satellite imagery of Khamenei’s flattened compound, but rather on information from human intelligence sources.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran program head at Foundation for Defending Democracies, cautioned that in his estimation Khamenei’s house was struck, but the cleric is not dead “yet.”

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