Iran-Israel war news: In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting in Tehran, Iran. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Iran-Israel war latest news: Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has reportedly said that country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is still alive “as far as I know.”
Araghchi said this during an interview with NBC News on Saturday after Israel’s Channel 12 news reported that Tel Aviv assesses Khamenei was “likely killed” in Israeli airstrikes earlier today.
Amid reports of supreme leader’s “likely killing,” Khamenei is set to speak in a few minutes, Iran’s Al-Alam TV reported, hours after US, Israeli strikes targeted top Iranian leaders on Saturday.
Israeli official has reportedly said that Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Masoud Pezeshkian were both targeted in the attack on Saturday but the results of the strikes carried out by Israel and US weren’t clear.
A Reuters report, quoting a person familiar with the matter, had earlier stated that Khamenei was not in Tehran and had been transferred to a secure location, however, the supreme leader’s whereabouts remain unknown.
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Khamenei did not made a public appearance in the days preceding the attack and hasn’t been immediately seen after.
When the US and Israel launched their strikes on Iran in June last year, Khamenei was believed to have been taken to a secure location away from his Tehran compound, AP reported.
People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo)
Among other targets in the US-Israeli strikes include Iran’s armed forces Chief of Staff Sayyid Abdolrahim Mousavi, secretary of Iran’s newly established Defence Council, Ali Shamkhani, and the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, Ali Larijani, CNN reported quoting Israeli sources.
Some of the initial strikes appeared to hit areas surrounding Supreme Leader Khamenei’s office as Iranian state media reported strikes nationwide, and smoke could be seen billowing from capital Tehran.
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Earlier, US President Donald Trump called on the Iranian citizens to “take over” the Iran government, and added, “it will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
After Israel and US’ strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have said that they have fired the “first wave” of large-scale missile and drone attacks towards Israel. There are several reports of explosions in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, among others all of which have US bases.
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Iran-Israel war news: In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting in Tehran, Iran. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
