Ali Khamenei Killed, 40 Days of State Mourning Declared in Iran

Darwin, 01 March:

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been killed in a joint attack by Israel and the United States, Tehran has confirmed.

On Sunday, Iran’s news agencies, including Tasnim News Agency and Fars News Agency, along with other state and private media outlets, reported the information citing official sources.

A report by IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News stated: “Iran announced on Sunday that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, was martyred in Saturday’s attack by criminal US-Israeli forces.”

Following the Supreme Leader’s death, Iran has declared 40 days of state mourning and a seven-day public holiday. It has also been announced that a new Supreme Leader will be selected very soon.

Since midnight Saturday, Israeli media outlets have been claiming that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the first wave of attacks and that his body had been recovered.

Earlier that morning, the United States and Israel launched strikes on various Iranian military installations. After attacks on Khamenei’s office and residential compound in Tehran, black smoke was seen rising from the buildings.

U.S. President Donald Trump told NBC News that they believe the reports of Khamenei’s death are accurate. Fox News reported that, according to a U.S. official, between five and ten top Iranian leaders, including Khamenei, may have been killed in one of the strikes.

However, until the early hours of Sunday, Iranian officials had denied reports of Khamenei’s death, stating that he was leading from the battlefield.

Following the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks, Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on American bases in the Middle East, including those in Saudi Arabia. The Iranian military has begun attacking Israeli targets as well as U.S. regional bases using drones and missiles.

Al Jazeera reported that explosions have been heard so far in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, Manama, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. Iranian forces continue to carry out successive attacks. A billion-dollar U.S. radar system in Qatar has reportedly been destroyed.