DayofPal—Iranian state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated in joint US-Israeli air strikes that targeted multiple locations across the country.
President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the killing as “a great crime”, according to a statement from his office. He also declared seven days of public holidays in addition to the 40-day mourning period.
Khamenei was killed at his office during the wave of attacks that began early Saturday, according to state television.
The confirmation followed earlier claims by US and Israeli officials that the 86-year-old leader had been assassinated.
Initial reports from Iranian news agencies had suggested he remained in command before the official announcement of his death.
US President Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that Khamenei had been killed in a coordinated operations with Israel.
He called the moment “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country,” inciting members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and police to lay down their weapons.
Israeli war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu also said that “senior figures” in Iran’s leadership and nuclear programme had been eliminated, pledging that operations would continue.
Iranian media reported that strikes hit 24 provinces, killing at least 201 people, including civilians.
Among the dead were more than 143 people in attacks on two schools in the southern city of Minab and another near Tehran, according to local reports.
In response, Iran launched retaliatory missile attacks targeting US and Israeli positions.
Air defence systems were activated in several Gulf countries hosting US military assets, including Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The IRGC said additional waves of retaliatory strikes were ongoing.
Khamenei had served as Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, holding ultimate authority over the government, armed forces and judiciary.
Hamas and Palestinian factions mourned the assassination of Iran’s Ali Khamenei.
In a statement, Hamas said “We recall the life of the martyr, the leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ali Khamenei, and his long-standing record of supporting our people, their cause, and their valiant resistance.”
“This path has extended for nearly four decades, during which the late martyr showed all forms of political, diplomatic, popular, and military support despite the pressures, siege, and conspiracies against the Islamic Republic due to its honorable positions in support of Palestine, Gaza, Jerusalem, and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, most recently during the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood.”
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=72606
