KHAMENEI IS DEAD: Trump announces on Truth Social post

US President Donald Trump on Saturday (February 28) declared that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed in Saturday's joint American and Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic. “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. There has been no confirmation from Iran, and a tweet from Khamenei’s X account purports to show that the supreme leader is still alive.

Trump wrote that Khamenei’s death is “not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all great Americans, and those people from many countries throughout the world [who] have been killed or mutilated by [him] and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS.” While Israel was reportedly responsible for the specific strike that killed Khamenei, Trump indicates the US played a major role, coordinating closely with Jerusalem.

Also Read: 'Ali Shamkhani, advisor to Iran's supreme leader, Khamenei, killed in strikes', says Israel army. Who are the other officials killed in attack

Khamenei “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 [who] have been killed along with him, could do,” Trump wrote. “This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country. We are hearing that many of their [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], military, and other security and police forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for immunity from us,” Trump claims.

Such capitulations have not been independently verified. Trump has called on Iranian security personnel to surrender in exchange for immunity or face imminent death. “Hopefully, the IRGC and police will peacefully merge with the Iranian patriots and work together as a unit to bring back the country to the greatness it deserves,” Trump said. “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,” he claimed. “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!” Trump wrote.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.