Donald Trump boasts of killing ‘evil’ Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israel strike
Taking to Truth Social, Mr Trump said the US and Israel’s joint strikes had killed the leader, though Iranian officials are dismissing the claim as ‘psychological warfare’.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, calling him “one of the most evil people in history”.
Taking to Truth Social, Mr Trump said the US and Israel’s joint strikes had killed the leader.
“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Mr Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems, and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.
“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country. We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces no longer want to fight and are looking for Immunity from us.
“As I said last night, Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!”
Though Iranian officials initially dismissed the claim of Khamenei’s death as “psychological warfare”, state media have since confirmed his death.
“The Supreme Leader of Iran Has Reached Martyrdom,” state broadcaster IRIB reported.
After decades of conflict, the US and Israel launched a strike against Iran on Saturday, sending the Middle East into chaos and sparking fears of severe retaliatory action.
The attack was already underway before Donald Trump announced the campaign, with Tomahawk missiles and F-16s flying toward hundreds of targets.
The death toll is already significant, with Iranian media reporting at least 201 dead according to Red Crescent figures.
At least 85 people were killed, and more than 63 people were wounded in a strike at an Iranian girls’ school in Minab, according to Reuters. The city is also home to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Australia has listed as a terrorist organisation.
In response to the initial strikes, Iran retaliated by firing missiles toward Israel and US military targets in several countries, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The attack came just after a third round of negotiations between the US and Iran regarding Iran’s nuclear programme ended on Friday.
According to Al Jazeera, Iran’s foreign ministry is claiming the right to self-defence.
Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for the ministry, said the countries were supposed to meet on Monday to discuss the “technical aspects” of the possible “deal” concerning nuclear weapons.
“And the Americans themselves acknowledged that these negotiations went quite well. The mediator, [the] foreign minister of Oman, qualified this round of negotiations as being of significant progress.”
In his Truth Social post, Mr Trump said he hoped the IRGC and police would peacefully merge with the Iranian patriots and work together to bring the country back to the “greatness it deserves”.
“That process should soon be starting in that, not only the death of Khamenei but the Country has been, in only one day, very much destroyed and, even, obliterated.
“The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”
