The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has claimed there are indications that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, may be dead.
In a televised address on Saturday evening, Netanyahu said Israel’s military campaign against Iran would continue “as long as it is needed,” adding that the conflict would ultimately bring about “true peace.”
He stated that signs suggest Khamenei is “no longer with us,” claiming Israeli airstrikes had destroyed the Iranian leader’s compound. Netanyahu also said senior figures involved in Iran’s nuclear programme and top government officials were successfully targeted.
The Israeli leader argued that what he described as a “murderous regime” should not possess nuclear weapons capable of threatening humanity. He expressed gratitude to what he called the “brave and courageous” Iranian people, saying the strikes would help free them from oppression.
Netanyahu urged Iranians to seize what he described as a “once in a generation opportunity” to overthrow the regime. He called on citizens to take to the streets in large numbers, unite, and “get the job done.”
However, his remarks contradict earlier statements from Iran’s foreign ministry, which maintained that both the Supreme Leader and the country’s president are “safe and sound.”