Fox News reported on the 28th (local time), citing a senior Israeli official, that Iran's hardline supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tehran.

Reports of Khamenei's death began circulating early in the airstrikes, and this is the first official confirmation reported by Fox News.

Furthermore, the senior official told Fox News that 40 of Iran's top leaders were killed in the blast. Fox News reported this, although it has not yet been officially confirmed.

Khamenei led the Islamic Republic for over 30 years, overseeing a period of harsh internal repression and confrontation with the United States and Israel. He upheld a belligerent anti-American and anti-Israeli ideology, drawing criticism from the West.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at FDD, told Fox News Digital, "Khamenei was the longest-reigning autocrat in the modern Middle East. He didn't reach that position by acting like a gambler. Khamenei was an ideologue, but he pursued his ideology ruthlessly to preserve and protect it, often by taking two steps forward and one step back."

He added, "Khamenei's worldview was shaped by his extreme anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism, which was initially evident in his protests against the Shah of Iran."

Born on April 19, 1939, in Mashhad, eastern Iran, Khamenei was one of the Islamist activists who played a key role in the revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979. A close associate of Iran's first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei consolidated his position in the new regime, serving as president from 1981 to 1989, and became Supreme Leader the same year after Khomeini's death.

For decades, Khamenei has maintained control over Iran's political and security apparatus, leading repeated crackdowns on dissent and maintaining a hardline stance against Washington and Jerusalem.

Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, said, "Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's reign was characterized by constant brutality and repression, both inside and outside of Iran." She noted that executions and the enforcement of strict social controls were defining features of the regime under Khamenei's leadership.

However, his extremely conservative leadership style also faced challenges. In 2009, widespread nationwide protests erupted following a controversial election where Khamenei declared the victory of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

In 2022, large-scale protests broke out again after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died in the custody of the morality police on suspicion of not wearing her hijab properly. The protests were brutally suppressed, and many arrested protesters were executed by the regime.

In late December, Iran was once again shaken by protests and the brutal crackdown by security forces. According to an investigation by Iran International, up to 30,000 people may have died over two days from January 8 to 9, 2026.

President Trump stated in a video announcing airstrikes against Iran that "at least 32,000" people had died.

Analysts argue that the institutional apparatus Khamenei built domestically to protect the regime will be his most enduring legacy.

A recent report published by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), co-authored by Saeid Golkar and Kasra Aarabi, describes the Supreme Leader's office, Bayt, as a parallel structure that exists across Iran's military, economic, religious institutions, and bureaucracy.

Aarabi told Fox News Digital, "It's the hidden nervous center of the Iranian regime, functioning like a state within a state." He argued that even if Khamenei were removed, the system would not collapse entirely.

Aarabi added, "Even if he is removed, the institution called Bayt allows the Supreme Leader to maintain functionality," and "The Supreme Leader should be thought of as an institution, not an individual."

Aarabi also warned, "Removing Khamenei individually is not enough," urging a comprehensive strategy targeting the broader organization surrounding the Supreme Leader. He said, "This vast organization that Khamenei has built must be dismantled."

By Sung Ku Hong, Chief Reporter, U.S. NNP / Special Correspondent, NNP info@newsandpost.com