Trump Says Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei Is Dead, Promises Continued Military Pressure

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in recent military operations, describing the development as “justice for the people of Iran and Great Americans.” In a detailed statement issued late Saturday, Trump said Iranian leaders killed alongside Khamenei were unable to evade U.S. intelligence and tracking systems, and he credited cooperation with Israel in locating them.

“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead,” Trump said, adding that the outcome offers “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country.” He framed the operation as a critical step toward reshaping Iran’s future and weakening what he called the regime’s “gang of bloodthirsty thugs.”

In his statement, Trump urged members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), military, and security forces to seek “immunity” from U.S. forces rather than continue fighting.

“As I said last night, now they can have immunity, later they only get death!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. He called on the IRGC and police elements to “peacefully merge with the Iranian patriots” to help rebuild the country.

Trump said the U.S. military will continue its operations, including what he described as heavy and “pinpoint bombing,” “uninterrupted throughout the week” or as long as necessary to achieve his stated objective of “peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world.”

The U.S. president also claimed intelligence reports indicate that many Iranian military and security personnel are seeking ways to avoid combat and are looking for “immunity from us,” suggesting internal fractures within Iran’s armed forces.

There has been no independent confirmation from Iranian state media or other verified sources regarding Khamenei’s death or the reported killing of other senior Iranian leaders. Tehran has not yet issued an official statement addressing the claim.

The announcement comes amid an intensifying military confrontation following coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military and strategic targets on Saturday. Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks targeting U.S. military bases and allied locations across the Gulf, and tensions have soared across the region over recent weeks.

Khamenei, who had led Iran since 1989, was the country’s most powerful political and religious authority, overseeing the military, judiciary, and security infrastructure. His reported death — if confirmed — would mark an unprecedented shift in Iranian governance and a significant turning point in decades‑long U.S.–Iran tensions.