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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in airstrikes carried out by Israel and the United States, Iranian state media outlets Fars and Tasnim reported.
“Today, the unbreakable people of Iran, the Islamic ummah, and freedom fighters around the world are in mourning because of the criminal attacks by the United States and the treacherous Zionists. But the cruel enemies and international oppressors must know: the awakened hearts of the world have already found their path, and these martyrdoms, though painful for our nation and the Islamic ummah, will only make them stronger and more determined. Undoubtedly, the martyrdom of this great figure will mark the beginning of a great rise in the struggle against the oppressors of the world,” the statement said. According to officials, the attack occurred Saturday morning at the residence of the Supreme Leader.
“We have lost a great leader and mourn him — a leader who was unique for his purity of spirit, strength of faith, ingenuity in affairs, courage in the face of the arrogant, and jihad on the path of God,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement. The Iranian government declared 40 days of national mourning and seven days of nationwide holidays. After Khamenei’s death, his successor is to be chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics. The name of an official successor has not yet been announced. Earlier, Israeli officials said that the attack on Iran carried out by Israel and the United States was aimed, among others, at the country’s spiritual leader Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian. Other senior regime officials and military figures were also targeted.
