Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for more than three decades and oversaw an era marked by internal repression and deep confrontation with the United States and Israel, has reportedly died following an Israeli strike today in Tehran.
A senior Israeli official told Fox News Digital that Khamenei was killed after his compound in the Iranian capital was reduced to rubble in the attack. Iranian authorities have not immediately confirmed the claim.
Born on April 19, 1939, in Mashhad in eastern Iran, Khamenei was among the Islamist activists who played a central role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. A close ally of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei rose through the ranks of the newly established Islamic Republic.
He served as Iran’s president from 1981 to 1989 before assuming the position of supreme leader following Khomeini’s death later that year.
During more than three decades in power, Khamenei consolidated control over Iran’s political, military and security institutions. His tenure was defined by repeated crackdowns on domestic dissent and a hardline stance toward Washington and Jerusalem, shaping Iran’s regional policies and its long-running tensions with Israel and the United States.
The nuclear program remained at the center of tensions in foreign policy relations, especially after the United States left the international agreement with Tehran in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. The conflicts culminated in 2025 with attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Inside the country, Khamenei’s rule has been marked by waves of protests and harsh repression. From the reformist demonstrations of the late 1990s, through mass protests in 2009 and 2019, to the uprisings after the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 and new unrest in 2025.
Khamenei’s death opens an uncertain chapter for the Islamic Republic, and the CIA previously warned Trump that the Revolutionary Guard could play a key role in the transition.
Further details about the reported strike and its broader implications for the region are still emerging.
