Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that “all indications” suggest Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a massive joint U.S.-Israeli military operation that destroyed his Tehran compound on Saturday.
In a dramatic televised address on Saturday evening, February 28, 2026, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the global community that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is believed to have been killed following a series of precision airstrikes. The Prime Minister revealed that the operation, part of a broader campaign involving U.S. forces, successfully targeted and destroyed Khamenei’s high-security compound in the heart of Tehran. While stopping short of an absolute confirmation, Netanyahu emphasized that the weight of intelligence supports the conclusion that the 86-year-old leader did not survive the barrage. “Signs show that Khamenei is no longer with us,” Netanyahu said, adding that “all indications show this tyrant is no longer with us.”
The Prime Minister’s announcement directly contradicts claims from the Iranian Foreign Ministry, which earlier asserted that both the Supreme Leader and President Masoud Pezeshkian were “safe and sound” in a secure location. Netanyahu, however, dismissed these reports as propaganda from a failing administration, insisting that the military campaign will continue “as long as it is needed” to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities and military infrastructure. “Everyone knows that such a murderous regime should not have nuclear weapons that can continue threatening the entire humankind,” the Israeli leader stated, framing the conflict as a necessary path toward achieving “true peace” in the Middle East.
Addressing the Iranian people directly, whom he lauded for their courage, Netanyahu characterized the current military offensive as a liberation effort intended to help them “unshackle themselves from tyranny.” He urged citizens to seize what he described as a “once in a generation chance” to topple the Islamic Republic and reclaim their sovereignty. “We would like to thank the brave Iranian people, that they are being freed of those horrific ties with that regime,” he said. As reports of celebrations in parts of Tehran emerge alongside claims that the leader’s body has been recovered from the rubble, the region remains on edge awaiting a formal response from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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