Iranian media have confirmed the death of the 86-year-old Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, early Sunday morning following a major attack by the United States and Israel.
Just hours earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Khamenei had been killed in a joint U.S.-Israel operation, and now Iranian authorities have confirmed the news of his death.
Khamenei assumed the role of Supreme Leader in 1989, succeeding Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution who overthrew King Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and established the Shiite clerical regime.
Although Khamenei was viewed as having less religious authority than his predecessors, he gradually centralized power, built a network of clerics, and expanded the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), making it a pillar of the country's security and economy.
Under Khamenei's leadership, Iran established a network of armed regional allies known as the “Axis of Resistance.”
Groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas have received support from Tehran.
However, after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Middle Eastern geopolitics shifted dramatically. Israel launched heavy retaliatory strikes, and reports indicate that several senior leaders of Iran's allied groups were killed.
The year 2024 marked the first direct conflict between Israel and Iran, and in June 2025, the United States and Israel carried out significant attacks on Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
Khamenei pushed forward with the nuclear program despite sanctions and, although issuing a religious ruling against nuclear weapons as contrary to Islamic principles, insisted on Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
The 2015 nuclear agreement had previously reduced uranium enrichment levels, but the U.S. withdrew during Donald Trump's first term, causing the deal to collapse.
Since then, Iran has increased uranium enrichment to near weapons-grade levels, and new negotiations in 2025 have failed to achieve success.
Analysts suggest that after Khamenei's death, the Assembly of Experts, composed of 88 members, will select the new Supreme Leader. No clear successor has emerged yet, and the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may be decisive if a power vacuum occurs, amid a population of over 90 million, many of whom express dissatisfaction with the current regime.
Source:BBC
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