Iranian state media confirmed that 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died Saturday in U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting a high-level military meeting in Tehran, killing other top officials like Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and the IRGC chief.
Iran declared 40 days of mourning, with President Masoud Pezeshkian vowing revenge and crowds attacking the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, though reactions split between grief and street celebrations reflecting discontent with his 36-year hard-line rule.
Ayatollah Arafi was named acting leader as the Assembly of Experts prepares a successor, amid international condemnations like Russia’s and fears of wider conflict following Iran’s retaliatory strikes.
A massive explosion hit Iran’s capital Sunday as the Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran. It comes one day after the US and Israel attacked Iran and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.
Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early Sunday. US President Donald Trump had announced his death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.
The joint US-Israel attack on Iran, which officials say was planned for months, followed unsuccessful negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program and warnings from Trump. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting US military installations in the region. Several other Gulf nations were targeted, including some less accustomed to violence such as Qatar and Bahrain.
Iran, meanwhile, is moving swiftly to fill the power vacuum left by the assassination of its leader, with a leadership meeting called for Sunday to begin the process of appointing a new supreme leader.