The fate of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remains unclear as the nation engages in all round counter offensive against the Gulf nations. Israel Prime Minister has claimed there are ‘growing indications’ that he had been killed in the joint US-Israeli strikes, while the Iranian government insists he is alive.

However, there is no verifiable proof shared. Neither a statement made by him.

Israel vs Iran over Khamenei’s fate

Israel’s Channel 12, citing unnamed Israeli sources, said the government is ‘assessing’ that Khamenei was likely killed in a strike earlier on Saturday. The same channel had earlier reported that Khamenei was “hurt at the very least,” before claiming he has been killed. Israel’s state broadcaster Kan reported that “there is no contact” with Khamenei and that his condition remained unknown.

Iran has pushed back and dismissed the reports. State-run news agency IRNA, citing a source close to the presidency, said both Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were “in good health.” Prime Minister Netanyahu also claimed that ‘there are signs’ Iran’s Khamenei is dead and even vowed that US-Israeli attacks to last ‘as long as necessary’.

In an interview to NBC, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghch has said the country’s 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is still alive “as far as I know.”

Satellite imagery from Airbus Defence and Space, obtained by the New York Times, showed Khamenei’s Tehran compound, known as the Beit-e Rahbari, the seat of his decades-long grip on power, reduced to smouldering rubble.

Khamenei had not been in Tehran when the strikes hit?

A Reuters report, citing an Iranian official, confirmed he had been transferred to a “secure location” before the assault began. According to Iran International, Khamenei’s third son Masoud had taken over day-to-day management of the supreme leader’s responsibilities and was serving as the primary channel of communication with the regime’s executive branches — a detail that analysts said could signal either a precautionary delegation of authority or something more consequential.

During the June 2025 war, Khamenei had appeared publicly within hours to project defiance and calm. His absence from public view for over twelve hours after the most devastating attack on Iranian soil in decades has fuelled intense speculation.

“If the Supreme Leader has indeed been killed in the decapitation strikes, it would trigger an immediate and chaotic succession crisis within the Islamic Republic,” one analyst told WION. “Khamenei holds ultimate constitutional authority over the military, the government, and the judiciary.”