, March 1 -- US President Donald Trump has said that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the 86-year-old leader was killed in coordinated attacks that began early Saturday.

"He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do," the US president wrote.

"This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country," he said. "Hopefully, the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots."

Earlier...