Tehran: Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (86) was killed after a major attack by Israel and the United States. This was confirmed by Iranian state media early on Sunday, as reported by The Hindu.
Iran state television announced a 40-day mourning period and seven public holidays following the Khamenei’s death.
“With the martyrdom of the supreme leader, his path and mission neither will be lost nor will be forgotten, on the other hand, they will be pursued with greater vigour and zeal,” a presenter said.
The death had previously been announced by US president Donald Trump, who said that it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.
While Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency did not report a cause of death for the leader, the killing has certainly put the future of the Islamic Republic in doubt and raised the risk of regional instability.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump posted on social media, warning of “heavy and pinpoint bombing” that he said would continue throughout the week and even beyond, part of a lethal assault the US has justified as necessary to disable the country’s nuclear capabilities.
Khamenei’s daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter had also been killed in US and Israeli strikes, Iranian media reported.
“After establishing contact with informed sources in the Supreme Leader’s household, the news of the martyrdom of the daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter of the Revolutionary Leader has unfortunately been confirmed,” Fars news agency and other Iranian media reported.
This latest US intervention in Iran has opened the possibility of retaliatory violence and a wider war that may continue for days, analysts believe.
Khamenei’s death will create a leadership vacuum given the absence of a known successor and because the supreme leader had final say on all major policies during his decades in power. He led Iran’s clerical establishment and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the governing theocracy.
Eyewitnesses in Tehran told The Associated Press that some residents were rejoicing, blowing whistles and letting out ululations, as reports trickled out about the death.
Israel and America will “regret their actions, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, said on Saturday.
“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,” Larijani posted on X.
