New Delhi: US President Donald Trump and Israeli officials have reportedly claimed that the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in the ongoing war. However, so far, Iran has denied his killing and reportedly claimed that is supremely leader is ‘firmly commanding the field’.
Netanyahu’s claims bear strong indication
Notably, according to the state media of Iran, Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were also killed in US-Israeli strikes. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also claimed, as per reports, that there were strong indications that Khamenei “is no longer” and urged Iranians to “finish the job”. However, the public relations office at Khamenei’s office have alleged that “the enemy is resorting to mental warfare, all should be aware.”
On Saturday, Israel and the US began a devastating attack against Iran. Netanyahu claimed that the forces have “embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.” The spirit was echoed by Trump as well, who claimed that their “objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people.”
Khamenei’s fall can be major blow for Iran
Khamenei was reportedly not in Tehran when the initial phase of the attack took place, and he was moved to a secure location. Even the Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that that Khamenei was alive.
However, if the news of the Iran’s Supreme Leader turns out to be true, then it would be an immense blow to the country’s war against Israel and the US. The second person to serve in that position, Khamenei has been the country’s supreme leader since 1989. He had previously served as Iran’s president from 1981 to 1989. His tenure as supreme leader, spanning 36 years, made him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East and the longest-serving Iranian leader since Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.