Israeli officials say Khamenei is dead. Update: Trump confirms.

Update: President Donald Trump has confirmed the death of Iranian dictator Ali Khamenei.

Israeli officials claim that Iranian dictator Ali Khamenei was among those senior-ranking Iranian officials killed in Saturday's joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes. While Iranian propagandists have suggested that the geriatric dictator is alive and kicking, President Donald Trump backed the Israeli account.

According to Axios, Reuters, and CNN, Israeli officials say that Khamenei — who reports previously indicated had been moved to a secure location outside the national capital of Tehran, where his compound was destroyed — is indeed dead.

'We feel that that is a correct story.'

Israel's ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, reportedly made the same boast to U.S. officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to state outright that Khamenei has been eliminated.

Netanyahu did note, however, that attacking forces "destroyed the compound of the tyrant," that the ayatollah's plan to destroy Israel "is no more," and that "there are many signs that the tyrant himself is no more."

The Israeli prime minister and the heads of Israel's security establishment were allegedly provided with proof of the successful assassination, namely a photo of the dictator's body.

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The White House

Trump suggested in a phone interview with NBC News on Saturday that his administration believes the Iranian dictator is dead.

"I've spoken to a lot of people beyond, and we feel certain, we feel, we feel that that is a correct story," said the president, adding that "the people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone."

The president later confirmed the death on Truth Social, noting:

Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. 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 was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do. This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.

The Iranian state-linked Tasnim and Mehr news agencies have reportedly suggested that Khamenei is still alive — "steadfast and firm in commanding the field."

Blaze News has reached out to the White House as well as the Departments of State and War for comment.

The 86-year-old Shia radical, who has served as Iran's supreme leader since 1989, has been antagonistic toward the U.S. and Israel, characterizing America as a "corrupt, oppressive" empire and prematurely insinuating that the American military might not be able to "get up again" after a conflict with Tehran.

Reports indicate that among the Iranian officials also believed dead are Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Javad Pourhossein, head of Iran's foreign intelligence unit; Mohammad-Reza Bajestani, head of the security unit; Ali Kheirandish, head of the counterterrorism unit; Saeed Ehya Hamidi, adviser on the war with Israel; and at least three members of Iran's Basij paramilitary forces.

This is a developing story.

Editor's note: This article was edited after publication to incorporate President Donald Trump's announcement that Khamenei is dead.

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