Israeli officials expressed cautious optimism Saturday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a sweeping surprise strike on Iran that began early Saturday morning under Operation Roaring Lion.
According to Israeli security assessments, Khamenei was among several senior Iranian leaders targeted in coordinated strikes at multiple locations where they had gathered earlier in the day.
In addition to Khamenei, Israeli assessments indicate that those believed to have been targeted include Mohammad Pakpour, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council; Iran’s defense minister; the head of Iranian military intelligence; and Iran’s armed forces chief of staff.
Israeli officials said there is growing indication that the operation succeeded in eliminating key figures, but stressed that there is still no definitive confirmation regarding the fate of those targeted. “The strikes were carried out at several sites where they had convened in the morning,” Israeli sources said.
The IDF said Saturday afternoon that it had completed a broad strike against what it described as strategic defense systems of Iran’s ruling clerical regime.
Among the targets struck was an advanced SA-65 air defense system deployed near Kermanshah in western Iran, according to the military. The IDF released an image it said showed an air defense site in the Kermanshah area that was hit in the operation.
“Throughout the war, and particularly during Operation Roaring Lion, the IDF has systematically targeted the defense array of the Iranian terrorist regime,” the military said in a statement. “The strikes that were completed expand the Israeli Air Force’s freedom of operation in Iranian airspace.”
The military added that it will continue striking infrastructure belonging to Iran’s regime in order to weaken it and to thwart threats against Israel’s civilian population.