The attack comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following joint missile strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran. Explosions were reported in Tehran and other major cities, with Iranian state media claiming that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes.
As per Reuters, citing the state media, 40 days of public mourning have been announced in Iran after Khamenei’s death.
Earlier, the Times of Israel cited Iran’s state media reporting that Ali Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law were killed in Israeli-US strikes. The Israeli newspaper said that there is no official word on the fate of Khamenei himself.
CNN reported news of celebrations in several cities in Iran. According to the news report, whistling, cheering and slogans of ‘Death to the Islamic Republic’ and ‘Long live the Shah’ were heard on the streets of the cities.
Fox News posted a video and reported that Iranians were celebrating the death of Khamenei on the streets of Besat Town, a suburb of Karaj, Iran.
Former Spokesperson for the state of Israel Eylon A Levy posted another celebration video on X, saying, “Iranian women are dancing in the streets–without hair coverings–after hearing that Israel killed the tyrant Khamenei. So many Western leaders should feel ashamed at their cowardly response this morning. We will all remember.”
Iranian activist and Journalist, Masih Alinejad, posted another video with the message, “A video of Iranian people celebrating inside Iran, Am I dreaming? Hello, new world.”
Earlier, the death of the Ayatollah was claimed by US President Donald Trump, calling it justice for the people of Iran.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. 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…The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD.” (ANI)
