Allegations have emerged that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an early morning airstrike targeting his office after he reportedly refused repeated warnings from his security team to relocate amid escalating tensions in the region.
Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, Khamenei’s representative in India, spoke to supporters about the incident, claiming aircraft connected to a joint US-Israeli operation struck the Supreme Leader’s office, killing him along with several family members.
Ilahi portrayed Khamenei as a leader deeply committed to ordinary Iranians, prioritizing their safety over his own. He said security officers repeatedly advised the Supreme Leader to move to a more secure location, but he refused every suggestion.
“Ayatollah Khamenei was in his office and several times security asked him to move to another city, but he refused,” Ilahi said.
According to Ilahi, officials also offered fortified shelters and underground bunkers, but Khamenei declined. He insisted that personal safety should not come at the expense of millions of Iranians living under threat.
“He said if you could move 90 million Iranians to another city, I will move after that,” Ilahi quoted him.
The cleric further explained that Khamenei rejected hiding underground unless similar protection was available to all citizens.
“They asked him to go to a basement for safety, but he said if you can build basements for all Iranians, then I will go,” Ilahi said.
Ilahi said Khamenei remained in both his office and residence despite repeated warnings. He claimed the airstrike struck early in the morning, killing the Supreme Leader, his wife, daughter-in-law, and other relatives.
Offering condolences to supporters worldwide, Ilahi expressed confidence that the incident would not weaken the political and ideological movement led by Khamenei.
“I am sure the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei will not benefit them,” he said. “His blood will bring more power, more energy, and more awareness to society, and people will follow his path.”
He added that despite the unjust death, Khamenei’s followers would continue seeking what he described as justice and peace globally.
Iran state media confirmed the Supreme Leader’s death early Saturday morning. US President Donald Trump also stated that Khamenei had been killed in US-Israeli strikes across Iran.
An intelligence source and a military official told CBS, the US partner of BBC, that roughly 40 Iranian officials were killed in the raids, including Khamenei. Israel said it had killed seven officials.
Born in Mashhad in 1939 to a religious scholar, Ali Khamenei joined Ayatollah Khomeini’s opposition movement in 1962. Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he became deputy defence minister and helped organize the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
When Khomeini died in 1989, the Assembly of Experts appointed Khamenei as the new supreme leader, amending the constitution to allow him to assume leadership despite not having the required clerical rank.
During his rule, Khamenei retained tight control over Iran’s politics and military, suppressing dissent and taking firm stances on foreign matters, particularly regarding the United States.
