U.S President Donald Trump has announced that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed today after the U.S. and Israel launched a predawn assault on the country.

 

In a message on Truth Social, Trump announced Khamanei “is dead” and referred to the supreme leader as “one of the most evil people in history,” calling his death “justice for the people of Iran.”

 

“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump wrote. “This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS.”

 

He said bombing in Iran will continue “as long as necessary” in order to “achieve peace in the Middle East.”

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier claimed there were “many signs” suggesting Khamenei’s death.

 

Donald Trump confirmed that the US had carried out “major combat operations” in Iran. The Israeli military later said that around 200 warplanes were involved in the attack.

 

At least 108 people were killed in a strike on a girls’ primary school in southern Iran, most of whom were children, the local governor said. The Iranian Red Crescent says at least 201 were killed in the US-Israeli strikes, according to Iranian media.

 

Iranian forces retaliated with strikes on US and Israeli military bases across the Middle East, after cities including Tehran were struck on Saturday morning.

 

Khamenei, 86, has led the Islamic Republic since 1989 as the country’s highest political and religious authority and was the central figure in Iran’s military and nuclear strategy.