IRAN -TEHRAN: A dramatic escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran has led to a war of words over the fate of Iran’s highest authority, following a series of heavy airstrikes on the capital, Tehran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked global speculation by claiming there are “many signs” suggesting that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, may have been killed. The claim comes after a joint US-Israeli operation that targeted a compound belonging to the 86-year-old leader.
According to official sources, approximately 30 bombs were dropped on the site linked to Khamenei. However, it remains unclear whether the Supreme Leader was present at the time of the strikes, and no visual evidence has been provided to confirm his status.
“Today we have killed several major leaders that are involved in the nuclear program of Iran and we will continue to target several sites of this regime,” Netanyahu stated. “We have targeted the site where Khamenei was.” Without providing proof, he asserted that there were growing signs “this dictator” is “gone.”
The strikes were part of a larger military campaign dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the Israeli military, which claims to have hit around 500 targets across Iran.
Despite the Israeli Prime Minister’s assertions, Iranian officials have firmly rejected the claims. In an interview with NBC News, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi maintained that the leadership remains intact.
“Almost all officials are safe and sound and alive,” Araghchi stated, directly contradicting Netanyahu’s suggestion that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian had been harmed. “We may have lost one or two commanders, but this is not a big problem,” he added
As of now, there is no substantial evidence to back Netanyahu’s claims regarding the death of the Supreme Leader, leaving the region in a state of heightened tension and uncertainty.
