Iran declares 40 days of mourning as state media confirm Khamenei killed in Israeli-US strikes
Iranian state media on Sunday confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at his office during Israeli-US attacks on Iran, an escalation that has jolted the region and set Tehran on a 40-day period of mourning for its paramount leader.
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The announcement followed hours of uncertainty after the Tasnim and Mehr news agencies initially reported that Khamenei was “steadfast and firm in commanding the field.” The confirmation came after U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled earlier in the day that the 86-year-old cleric had been killed in the opening salvos of a campaign of strikes that began before dawn Saturday.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems,” adding that working “closely with Israel,” U.S. forces targeted senior leaders alongside him. He called the moment “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”
Netanyahu said there were “growing signs” Khamenei had been killed. Reuters, citing a senior Israeli official it did not name, reported that Khamenei’s body had been located.
Khamenei, who succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, wielded ultimate authority over Iran’s government, military and judiciary, and served as the state’s spiritual figurehead. His death injects immediate uncertainty into a conflict that has already widened across borders and could complicate succession in a system built around the office he controlled.
Iranian media, citing the Red Crescent, said coordinated strikes hit targets in 24 provinces and killed at least 201 people. Among them, Israel struck two schools, including the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in the southern city of Minab, where at least 108 people were reported killed, and another school east of Tehran.
Netanyahu said Israel had “eliminated” many senior figures and targeted commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as well as officials connected to Iran’s nuclear program. Trump indicated “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue “throughout the week or, as long as necessary.”
The IRGC said Saturday that the third and fourth waves of Iran’s “retaliatory” strikes on U.S. and Israeli positions were underway, according to the IRNA news agency. Air defenses were activated in several Gulf states that host U.S. military assets, including Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that an opening for diplomacy had been “squandered,” and urged an “immediate cessation of hostilities,” cautioning that military action risks igniting a chain of events “that no one can control” in an already volatile region.
Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told the Council that the United States and Israel had initiated an “unprovoked and premeditated aggression” and struck “civilian populated areas in multiple large cities,” calling the operation a war crime and a crime against humanity. U.S. ambassador Mike Waltz insisted the action was lawful and reiterated that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” framing the strikes as a matter of global security. China’s ambassador, Fu Cong, voiced deep concern over the “sudden escalation,” while Russia’s Vassily Nebenzia condemned the airstrikes and demanded they cease immediately.
Iran had long prepared contingency plans for Khamenei’s potential killing in a war scenario. Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, told Al Jazeera that Iran “has a plan” in place and that “there will probably be a council that will be set up to run the country. It may already have been running the country, as far as we know.” The declaration of a formal mourning period suggests the state is positioning its institutions for a managed transition even as external pressure intensifies.
The confirmation of Khamenei’s death appears likely to harden positions on all sides. Tehran’s leadership faces the dual challenge of orchestrating succession while calibrating retaliation; Israel has signaled it will prosecute its campaign against senior Iranian figures; and Washington has telegraphed that operations will continue. With Gulf airspace on edge and the Security Council split, the risk of rapid escalation remains acute.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
