Tehran: Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars have confirmed the death of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stating he was killed at his office in the early hours of Saturday while ‘performing his assigned duties’.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the Iranian government has announced 40 days of public mourning following Khamenei’s killing, alongside seven days of public holidays. An IRGC-aligned outlet reported that the supreme leader’s daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were also killed in the strike. This confirmation follows claims by US President Donald Trump and Israeli officials regarding Khamenei’s death, which Iranian officials had earlier dismissed as ‘psychological warfare’.
Following these reports, people were seen pouring into the streets of the Iranian capital, Tehran, as noted by Al Jazeera. Public ceremonies are expected in the coming days as part of the 40-day mourning period, even as bombardments continue across the country. A few hours earlier, a loud explosion was heard again in the capital.
Khamenei assumed leadership of the Islamic Republic in 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. While Khomeini was the ideological architect of the revolution that ended the Pahlavi monarchy, Khamenei went on to shape Iran’s military and paramilitary structures, which form the backbone of its defence strategy and regional influence.
Prior to his role as supreme leader, Khamenei served as Iran’s president during the war with Iraq in the 1980s. Analysts suggest that this prolonged conflict, coupled with Iran’s perception of isolation as Western countries supported Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, deepened Khamenei’s distrust of the West, particularly the United States. This outlook defined his decades-long rule and reinforced the belief that Iran must maintain a permanent state of defence against both external and internal threats.
Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s deposed Shah, declared ‘their hour of liberation is at hand’ in a brief post on X, expressing gratitude to Trump for the military operation against Iran. ‘The courageous Iranian people have paid a heavy price for freedom,’ he stated. Pahlavi, who aspires to lead Iran, mentioned he has outlined a plan ‘for an orderly, transparent transition to a democratic Iran’.