Fact Check: Is the image showing Ali Khamenei’s body in rubble real?

TEHRAN, IRAN: Amid the tensions in the Middle East, which have escalated into a war, an image has been widely shared on social media platforms claiming to show the body of Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei being pulled from the rubble following an airstrike by the US and Israel. Let us analyse the image and fact-check it.

Claim: Photo shows Ali Hosseini Khamenei's body in rubble

On Sunday, March 1, Iranian news media officially confirmed the death of their Supreme Leader, who was killed during the first phase of the US-Israel airstrike, following which a photo of Khamenei began circulating on social media.

The image shows multiple rescuers standing right on the debris over Khamenei's alleged body, trying to retrieve him from under the heavy concrete.

The image sparked speculations among netizens, with many questioning its authenticity, while a few others believe it to be real.

Fact Check: Fake,  image is AI-generated

Based on multiple fact-check reports, the rescuers are seen as unusually putting full body weight on a large piece of concrete, pressing down on the victim to remove a relatively small piece of debris.

Moreover, the image shows clear signs of being generated by Artificial Intelligence.

The visual inconsistencies include unnatural lighting and distorted object shapes and contain a SynthID watermark, a marker used by Google’s AI image generation tools.

The hand lying on the wooden beam in the foreground has six fingers, a common inconsistency in images produced by AI.

A closer examination of the image reveals that several structural components, such as the way the metal rods protrude from the concrete or the arrangement of the wooden beams, appear physically irregular or warped.

Ali Hosseini Khamenei killed in US-Israel strike

Khamenei was killed following a devastating joint military operation launched by the United States and Israel.

Amit Segal, chief political analyst at Israel’s N12 News, reported that senior officials were informed of the dictator's elimination after his body was recovered from the ruins of his palace.

Documentation of the recovery has reportedly been presented to the Israeli Prime Minister. The confirmation follows a high-stakes night of 'major combat operations' announced by President Donald Trump.

While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi initially claimed both Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were alive, Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter has since informed US officials that the Supreme Leader was killed during the targeted strike on his compound.