Iran has officially announced the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel.
In the early hours of Saturday, a bombardment on Khamenei’s residence in Tehran claimed the lives of the Supreme Leader’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law.
State media relayed the tragic family loss on Sunday, shortly before Iran’s military vowed to unleash unprecedented retaliatory attacks on both the US and Israel.
Khamenei, aged 86, perished in the airstrike, ending his nearly 37-year leadership of the Islamic Republic and leaving the regime in turmoil while unsettling the Gulf region.
In addition to Khamenei and his family, two senior military figures—Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani and Major General Mohammad Pakpour of the IRGC—were also killed during Saturday morning’s strikes.
In response, Iran launched a counteroffensive on Sunday, targeting 27 American military bases across the Middle East.
In 1964, Khamenei married Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the New York Times reported. The couple had six children: four sons, Massoud, Mojtaba, Mostafa and Meysam, and two daughters, Bushra and Hoda, according to the outlet.
Khamenei’s body was found under the rubble of his compound following the attacks. He was believed to have lived there with his wife, children and many grandchildren, the BBC reported.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were killed in joint US and Israeli strikes
An Iranian TV anchor breaks down in tears while announcing the Ayatollah’s death
A satellite image shows smoke rising from Khamenei’s compound in Tehran following US and Israeli airstrikes on Saturday
Iranian state media officially announced the leader’s death early on Sunday. ‘To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return,’ the news agency said.
An official 40 day mourning period was announced, as well as a seven-day national holiday in wake of Khamenei’s death.
During the official announcement on an Iranian state news broadcast, the anchor wore black and stifled tears during the reading of a statement from the National Supreme Council.
‘God is great. God is great. With deep sorrow, it is announced to the nation of Iran that Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, was martyred today in a joint criminal attack by the United States and the Zionist regime,’ the anchor said in a clip posted on X.
The Council described Khamenei as a revered religious Islamic figure, and said his ‘long dream of martyrdom became true.’ It was noted that Khamenei was killed during the month of Ramadan.
According to the statement, Iranians were said to be mourning the leaders death but enemies of the country should note that ‘martyrdom will spark a massive uprising in the fight against oppressors,’ the outlet reported.
Trump had earlier confirmed the Supreme Leader’s death in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, adding that ‘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,’ Trump wrote.
‘He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.’
In 1964, Khamenei married Khojasteh Bagherzadeh. The couple had six children: four sons, Massoud, Mojtaba, Mostafa and Meysam, and two daughters, Bushra and Hoda
On Sunday morning, Trump promised to strike Iran ‘with a force that has never been seen before,’ after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced they had attacked nearly 30 US military bases across the Middle East.
The targeted attacks on American assets in the destabilized region are part of Iran’s self-proclaimed ‘most intense offensive operation in history,’ in retaliation for the killing of Khamenei.
Black smoke was seen rising from a US airbase at Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq at sunrise, after the IRGC promised their most ferocious counterattack.
Trump, however, hit back in a midnight Truth Social post that read: ‘Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!’
Israel announced in the early hours of Sunday that it had begun a new ‘strike wave’ targeting Iran’s ballistic missiles and aerial defense systems, after Iran launched drones and missiles at Tel Aviv, which were intercepted and shot down.
In response, the IRGC said it was carrying out a ‘sixth wave’ of ‘extensive missile and drone’ attacks on 27 US military bases. The extent of the damage is not yet clear.
Meanwhile, jubilant protesters inside Iran were seen toppling a statue of the Ayatollah in the early hours of Sunday, in celebration after he was killed by the bombardment.
