Ayatollah Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader in 1989, wielding ultimate religious and political authority over the state and security apparatus.
The killing of Iran’s supreme leader and other top Iranian officials came after close intelligence sharing between the United States and Israel, according to people familiar with the operation.
Some Iranians said on social media that they were privately mourning the supreme leader. But displays of exuberance broke out in cities across the country.
As Iran’s second supreme leader, he brutally crushed dissent at home and expanded Iran’s footprint abroad, challenging Saudi Arabia for regional dominance.
Now that Iran has declared that its supreme leader is dead, it is unclear which of his possible successors might rise.
Questions remain about how much effort the Trump administration will put into changing the Iranian government.
Among those killed in strikes, according to the U.S. and Israel, were Iran’s supreme leader and three of his top military commanders.
Here are images from Iran, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.
At least one gathering of senior officials and military leaders was hit, but it was not immediately clear whether the effort to kill them had succeeded.
Maps show where U.S. and Israel have struck Iran, and where Iran has retaliated.