Iranian state media has reported that the country’s former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes.
Ahmadinejad, 69, served as president from 2005 to 2013 and was regarded as one of Israel’s most strident adversaries during his time in office. He repeatedly denied the Holocaust and claimed that Israel would soon cease to exist.
According to state media, Ahmadinejad “was killed along with his bodyguards in a missile attack by the Zionist regime and the United States” after his home was targeted.
During his presidency, Ahmadinejad championed Iran’s nuclear programme and adopted a confrontational stance towards the West. His disputed re-election in 2009 sparked mass protests, with opponents accusing him of rigging the vote. He later faced mounting power struggles with conservative factions within Iran’s political establishment before leaving office in 2013.
Ahmadinejad is the second most senior figure in the Iranian leadership reported to have been killed in the US-Israeli campaign, following an airstrike on the compound of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the early hours of Saturday.
Former US president Donald Trump warned that the United States would respond with “a force that has never been seen before” if Iran attempts retaliation following the death of its Supreme Leader.
“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever been hit before,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Explosions have been reported across several Gulf states after Iran vowed to launch its “most intense operation” yet in response to the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei, who had held power since 1989.
Sir Keir Starmer expressed “solidarity” with several Middle Eastern leaders “in the face of dangerous Iranian escalation” following the joint US-Israeli strikes.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister had spoken on Sunday with the King of Jordan, the King of Bahrain and the Crown Prince of Kuwait as military action continued across the region.
