Iran says ‘enemy resorting to mental warfare’ as Israel claims Khamenei’s death

Iran called on its people to remain vigilant and not be swayed by what it described as the enemy’s “mental warfare” after reports that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been allegedly killed in an Israeli air strike on Saturday.

Iranian state media cited the head of public relations at the supreme leader’s office as saying: “The enemy is resorting to mental warfare, all should be aware.”

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were growing signs that Khamenei was “gone”, as a senior Israeli official claimed the supreme leader’s body had been found following an Israeli strike on his compound.

“This morning we destroyed the compound of the tyrant Khamenei,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “There are many signs that this tyrant is no longer. This morning we eliminated senior officials in the ayatollahs’ regime, Revolutionary Guards commanders, senior figures in the nuclear programme — and we will continue. In the next few days, we will hit thousands more targets of the terror regime.”

Netanyahu said Revolutionary Guards commanders and senior nuclear officials were killed while also calling on Iranian citizens to “flood the streets and finish the job”.

Read: Iran targets US bases in Gulf after American, Israeli strikes kill 201, injure 747

Separately, a senior Israeli official told Reuters that Khamenei was dead and his body had been found.

Israel’s military said its pilots had hit hundreds of targets across Iran, including strategic defence systems previously damaged in strikes last year. It said three sites where leaders had been meeting were struck simultaneously, and several senior figures were killed.

 A Fox News reporter also said, citing a US official, that the government believed Khamenei and five to 10 top Iranian leaders were killed in an initial Israeli strike.

Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show damage to Khamenei’s Tehran compound.

A satellite image shows black smoke rising and heavy damage at Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. Photo: Reuters

However, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry told Sky News that the supreme leader and the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, were both alive and well.

“They are all safe and sound,” Esmail Baghaei said.

Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Mehr reported that the supreme leader was “steadfast and firm in commanding the field”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also earlier refuted reports of Khamenei’s death. In an interview with NBC News, he said the supreme leader was still alive “as far as I know”.

“Almost all officials are safe and sound and alive. We may have lost one or two commanders, but that is not a big problem,” he added.

When asked about US President Donald Trump’s pre-recorded remarks after the attacks, Araghchi dismissed efforts at regime change as “mission impossible”.

Separately, a source with knowledge of the matter said Khamenei had been transferred in advance to a secure location outside Tehran, but Reuters could not immediately verify his status, as satellite images showed significant damage to his Tehran compound.

Khamenei, 86, has ruled Iran since 1989. As supreme leader, he holds ultimate authority over all branches of government, the military and the judiciary in the Islamic republic.

Also Read: Death toll rises to 85 in Israeli strike on girls’ school in southern Iran

Over almost four decades, Khamenei built a regional power to rival the states across the Gulf while promoting nuclear technology that unnerved the surrounding region.

But Saturday’s strikes on Iran come amid a cascade of crises.

Khamenei was forced into hiding last June by strikes that killed several close associates and Revolutionary Guard commanders. The June 2025 strikes by Israel and the US smashed prized nuclear and missile facilities.

Huge protests in January by an embittered population toiling under sanctions were crushed at a cost of thousands of lives.

And ever since the Tehran-backed Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Khamenei’s regional influence has been weakening.