After heavy bombing in the early hours of Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there are many signs that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, may no longer be alive.

On Saturday, the United States and Israel had launched missile strikes on Iran, while Israel described the attack as “pre-emptive”.

The Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the strike was part of a move to “remove threats against the State of Israel”.

Israel and the United States conducted coordinated military strikes against key Iranian targets, including the area around Khamenei’s compound in Tehran.

The Isreal government said several key officials of the Iranian government were eliminated during the strike.

In response, Iran launched missile attacks on US assets in the Middle East. Iranian missiles have reportedly hit targets in United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar

Speaking on the development, Netanyahu said “all indications show this tyrant is no longer with us”.

The Iran foreign ministry had earlier denied that Khamebei had been killed, saying the country’s supreme leader was “safe and sound”.

But Israeli media said Khamenei’s body has been recovered after his killing.