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Trump has now claimed Khamenei is dead in a post to Truth Social, calling Iran's supreme leader "one of the most evil people in History." 

"This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS," Trump wrote. 

Trump did not say how Khamenei was killed, but said the leader was "unable to avoid" U.S. Intelligence.

Guterres also said he was "not in the position to confirm" Khamenei's death. What the UN has confirmed, though, is that about 20 cities across Iran have been attacked, several high-ranking Iranian officials have been killed and that there have been "significant" civilian casualties. 

UN Secretary General António Guterres called the military escalation by all three countries "a grave threat to international peace and security" in his opening remarks to the UN Security Council, which is holding an emergency session this afternoon. 

"Military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world," he said. 

"Let me be clear: there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Lasting peace can only be achieved through peaceful means including genuine dialogue and negotiations."

Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, also did not address questions about whether Khamenei was killed at a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York a few minutes ago. 

"We will continue to target the leadership of this radical regime, and we will do whatever is necessary to enable the right conditions for a new future for the people of Iran, and stability for the regime," Danon said. 

Despite some reports, citing unnamed officials, saying Iran’s supreme leader was killed in the attacks, it’s anything but clear this is true.

In a briefing with journalists, Israeli Defence Forces officials said seven senior Iranian officials had been killed, including an adviser to Khamenei, but they did not mention the ayatollah.

Trump also has yet to declare that Khamenei was killed. Asked by NBC News to address reports of Khamenei's death, he said: "We feel that that is a correct story," and added, "The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone."

It's unclear what exactly the talks this week sought to accomplish. 

"It's proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran, and we have to make a meaningful deal," Trump said last week. "Otherwise bad things happen."

Under the original 2015 nuclear deal — which Trump scrapped in 2018 — Iran was allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67 per cent purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilograms. 

The last report by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency put Iran's stockpile at around 9,870 kilograms, with a fraction of it enriched to 60 per cent purity. The agency has been unable to assess the program for months.

Israel has said it believes Iran is pursuing a weapon and wants to see the nuclear program scrapped. Witkoff, Trump and other American officials have maintained Iran can have no enrichment under any deal, something to which Tehran insists it won't agree.

Iran has said it wants talks to focus solely on the nuclear program. President Masoud Pezeshkian has insisted his nation is "not seeking nuclear weapons ... And [is] ready for any kind of verification." 

Trump gave a five-minute phone interview this afternoon to Axios, the first news outlet he has spoken with since ordering the strikes on Iran. 

Axios reported that Trump cited two main reasons for taking military action: the outcome of nuclear talks with Iran this week and the regime's record in sponsoring past attacks.

"The Iranians got close and then pulled back, close and then pulled back. I understood from that that they don't really want a deal," Trump said about the nuclear talks.

Oman's foreign minister, who mediated the negotiations, says the Iranians had agreed to a deal not to engage in nuclear enrichment that could allow the development of a bomb. 

In preparing his video message announcing the U.S. Strikes, Trump said, he asked his team to compile a list of Iranian-linked attacks around the world over the past 25 years.

"I saw that every month they did something bad, blew something up or killed someone," he told Axios.

In his video statement, Netanyahu said Israel "destroyed the compound of the tyrant [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei" and there are "many signs that this tyrant is no longer."

"This morning, we eliminated senior officials in the ayatollah's regime, Revolutionary Guard commanders, senior figures in the nuclear program — and we will continue. In the next few days, we will hit thousands more targets of the terror regime," Netanyahu said.

Hours ago, Iran's Al-Alam ‌TV reported that Khamenei was expected to speak within minutes.

We still have not yet seen any video of the Iranian leader. But Iranian officials have insisted Khamenei is safe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has echoed some of Trump's talking points today, describing this moment as a "once-in-a-generation" chance for Iranians to overthrow the regime.

"We are going to continue to hit thousands of targets within this terrorist regime, and we are helping the courageous Iranian people to unshackle themselves from the shackles of tyranny," Netanyahu said in a video statement he delivered in Hebrew.

"Help has arrived, and now it is time that you all come together and unite for a historic mission for all of the citizens of Iran."

Some experts we've heard from today are skeptical about whether this attack can actually topple the Iranian regime — or inspire everyday Iranians to stand up.

Many Iranians have certainly been doing all they can to protest the regime in previous months. But they've been met with a brutal government crackdown that activist groups say has killed more than 6,000 people.

Yazdanmehr said it was a "rough night" as he anxiously followed the news of the U.S. And Israeli strikes on his native country. Just hours before the strikes began, he had exchanged a text with one of his nieces in Tehran. She said she would call him, but that call never came. "That was the last time I heard from her. And then, you know, within an hour, the bombardment started."

Yazdanmehr said it's scary thinking what his sister, who lives in Tehran along with her children, must be going through. "They have children in school. So I assume that they have to go and get the kids out of school and bring them home," he said. "And hunker down and stay as safe as they can to just wait it out and see what happens over the next 24 to 48 hours or so."

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