US President Donald Trump confirms Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is de@d after US-Israeli strikes

Yes — U.S. President Donald Trump publicly confirmed that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes earlier this year. The announcement came in late February 2026 during the opening phase of large‑scale military operations targeting Iranian leadership and infrastructure. 

Iran’s own state media later confirmed the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had led the country since 1989, and announced a period of national mourning. 

The strikes that killed him marked a dramatic escalation in the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, and have since triggered further retaliation and regional instability. In the days that followed, Iran’s clerical leadership selected his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader, a move criticized by President Trump and others in the U.S. government. 

This development is one of the most consequential in the Middle East in decades and reflects the severity and complexity of the current conflict.