Khamenei Killed, Senior Israeli Official Says

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed, senior Israeli official says

Reuters: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who turned the country into a powerful anti-U.S. force and extended its military influence across the Middle East while crushing repeated domestic unrest, was killed in Israeli, U.S. strikes, senior Israeli official told Reuters on Saturday.

Signs Are Growing: Netanyahu Hints Khamenei is Dead Following Massive US-Israel Strikes

Explosions cause panic among Iranians

No breakthrough this week in US-Iran nuclear talks

Iran's supreme leader moved to a secure location

Gulf Arab oil producers are on edge

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/DUBAI/DOHA: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Saturday that Israel and the United States had killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and called on Iranians to "take to the streets and finish the job."

There were many signs indicating Khamenei "is no longer", Netanyahu said without explicitly confirming his death.

He said Khamenei's compound had been destroyed, and Revolutionary Guard commanders and senior nuclear officials had ben destroyed.

Earlier, Iran's Al-Alam television has said Khamenei would speak, but no such speech was aired by late on Saturday.

The United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, targeting its top leaders and calling for the overthrow of its government, while Iran responded with missiles fired at Israel and neighbouring Gulf countries.

President Donald Trump, who in the biggest foreign-policy gamble of his presidency launched the war against a foe Washington has jousted with for generations, said the strikes were aimed at ending a security threat and ensuring Iran could not develop a nuclear weapon.

He called on Iranian security forces to lay down their weapons and invited Iranians to topple their government once the bombing ended.

Tehran called the strikes, which began in the morning hours and hit targets in different areas of the country, unprovoked and illegal.

In cities across Iran, explosions caused widespread panic. Residents rushed to collect children from school and flee areas that might be targeted.

"We are scared, we are terrified. My children are shaking, we have nowhere to go, we will die here," mother-of-two Minou, 32, said weeping as she spoke to Reuters by phone from the northern city of Tabriz. - Reuters

The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on targets across Iran on Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to take cover during the strikes, but then said “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.” It was an extraordinary appeal that suggested the allies could be seeking to end of the country’s theocracy after decades of tensions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed that sweeping goal. “Our joint operation will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands,” Netanyahu said.

In a video posted on social media, Trump claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles to reach the U.S.

The first strikes of the attack appeared to target the compound home to Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in downtown Tehran. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was there at the time. Smoke could be seen rising from the Iranian capital.

Iran responded as it had been threatening to do for months — first launching a wave of missiles and drones targeting Israel. It followed with strikes targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. The United Arab Emirates and Iraq shut down their airspace.

It also wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old Khamenei was in his offices at the time. He hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the United States have grown. The attack comes as the United States has assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region to try to pressure Iran into a deal over its nuclear program.