Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is presumed dead after a massive U.S. and Israeli military operation Saturday, multiple Israeli official sources and a senior U.S. intelligence official told CBS News.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Saturday that there are “growing signs” that Khamenei is “gone” after the mission.
People are cheering in the streets of Tehran, according to a CBS News producer in Tehran. But the state media in Tehran has not confirmed Khamenei’s death, and neither has the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
An Israeli broadcaster said Saturday that Netanyahu had been shown a photo of Khamenei’s body.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a press conference Saturday that seven Iranian officials and commanders were killed, including Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Khamenei.
Khamenei, 86, had been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, succeeding the leader of Iran’s 1979 revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khamenei controlled all branches of the government and the military and was considered the spiritual leader. It’s unclear who will succeed him.
This is breaking news and will be updated.