Late Khamenei's wife alive, says report; son recalls seeing Iran leader's body after US-Israel strike

Iranian state media on Thursday said the wife of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is alive, dismissing earlier reports claiming she had died in February 28 attack by the United States and Israel.

News agency Reuters reported the clarification quoting Iranian media that came hours after first statement by Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.




In his first public statement, Mojtaba Khamenei addressed the ongoing war and acknowledged the death of his father.

Mojtaba Khamenei said he had personally seen his father's body after the strike that killed him. "I had the honor of seeing his body after his martyrdom," he said, describing his father as "a mountain of steadfastness."

The Iranian leader also confirmed that several members of his family were killed in the airstrike, including his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and the husband of another sister.

His remarks were among the most direct confirmations from the Iranian leadership regarding the casualties from the attack that killed Ali Khamenei, a central figure in Iran's political and religious establishment for decades.

The developments come as tensions remain high following the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel, with both sides exchanging warnings and military strikes across the region.

'Gone in 60 seconds'

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28 in a rapid strike in Tehran that was the culmination of months of intelligence tracking and years of covert surveillance, according to multiple media reports.

At around 9.40 am local time on Saturday, long-range missiles struck a leadership compound in the Iranian capital. The near-simultaneous strikes, carried out within roughly a minute, reportedly killed Khamenei along with several senior figures in Iran’s political and security establishment.

Reports citing US and Israeli officials said the operation relied on extensive intelligence gathering involving the Central Intelligence Agency and Israeli intelligence networks.

According to reports, US intelligence had tracked Khamenei’s movements for months, building a detailed “pattern-of-life” profile to understand where he stayed and how he relocated during crises. The breakthrough came when intelligence sources learned of a meeting of senior Iranian officials scheduled at a leadership compound in central Tehran, which Khamenei was expected to attend.

Originally planned as a night operation, the strike timing was shifted to the morning once officials confirmed the Iranian leader would be present above ground.

Israeli fighter jets reportedly took off around 6 am Israel time, carrying long-range munitions toward Tehran. The missiles then hit multiple locations in the compound almost simultaneously, catching the leadership group off guard.