Ayatollah Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran, was killed during a joint Israel-U.S. attack on Iran Saturday, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. informed American officials.
Khamenei served as Iran’s chief theocrat and highest authority for 35 years. His death is a major blow to the regime and leaves the country with a leadership vacuum at the highest level. Airstrikes have also targeted much of Iran’s political and military leadership, leaving major uncertainty as to who will be his successor and when a change of leadership will be made effective.
The death of Khamenei is a major coup for Israel, which has repeatedly threatened to kill the ayatollah and topple the Iranian government. It also achieves a major objective of President Donald Trump, who has called for a change of regime in the country, exhorting Iranians in his speech Saturday to “take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations.”
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