Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Ayatollah Khamenei was killed early Saturday morning at his office “while he was carrying out tasks”.
Using satellite imagery, BBC Verify earlier confirmed significant damage to parts of the Leadership House compound, which is Khamenei’s office in Tehran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Tasnim News Agency has said that Khamenei’s death at his office is proof that reports that he was hiding out were the “enemy’s psychological warfare”.
Khamenei, the hard-line cleric in charge of Iran for 37 years
Born in the north-eastern city of Mashhad in 1939, the son of a religious scholar, Ali Khamenei joined the religious opposition movement of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1962.
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Ali Khamenei became deputy defence minister and helped organise the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC).
When Khomeini died in June 1989, the Assembly of Experts – a council of clerics – chose Ali Khamenei to be the new supreme leader, changing the constitution to allow him to take charge even though he had not achieved the required rank among Shia clerics.
Ayatollah Khamenei has maintained a firm grip on Iran’s politics and its armed forces ever since, suppressing challenges to the ruling system, sometimes violently.
He also consistently taken hard-line stances on external matters, including the ongoing confrontation with the United States, of whom he remained suspicious. He had also repeatedly called for the elimination of the State of Israel – publicly questioning whether the Holocaust occurred.
There have been seven presidents of Iran to serve during the rule of Khamenei, who has six children.
Iran state TV: Khamenei’s death start of ‘uprising in the fight against the oppressors’
As we just reported, Iran’s state TV has announced 40 days of public mourning and seven days of public holiday over the death of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.
At the moment, Iran’s state TV news channel IRINN is showing photos of Khamenei with recital of Quran in the background, with a black banner on the top left corner.
The presenter previously read a statement by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) officially confirming the death of Khamenei, blaming the US and Israel for his death. The statement said that Khamenei’s “martyrdom” will be the beginning of “an uprising in the fight against the oppressors”.
SUMMARY
Iran’s state media has confirmed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been killed, after attacks across Iran by Israel and the US, which began on Saturday morning (local time).
Here is what you need to know.
- A statement from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, read out by several state broadcast channels, confirmed Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in his office early on Saturday morning.
- One presenter, through tears, said the country will enter 40 days of mourning. The Assembly of Leadership Experts – a council of clerics – is expected to appoint a successor as soon as possible.
- More than 200 people have been killed during the strikes, according to the Red Crescent, and the BBC’s media partner, CBS News, has reported around 40 Iranian officials are dead.
- In response, Iran has launched attacks throughout the Middle East, on US allies and where the US has military bases, including in Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
- The UK is taking part in “co-ordinated regional defensive operations” to protect British people and regional partners, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said.
- President Donald Trump earlier said Khamenei was “one of the most evil people in history” and that his death marked “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country”.
- He said the US would continue bombing Iran – with explosions still ringing out across its capital Tehran.
- The US cannot declare war without congressional approval – and this operation has divided lawmakers, largely along party lines. The United Nations has also said the military operation undermines peace in the region.
Sounds of explosions in Tehran as dawn breaks
The sun is rising over Tehran now, where explosions have continued to be heard over the last few hours.
The Iranian capital bore the brunt of dozens of deadly US-Israeli strikes on Saturday, and Trump has warned the bombing will continue despite the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
About an hour ago, US Central Command posted a clip on X, external showing US missiles launching and exploding into their targets, saying: “CENTCOM is now delivering swift and decisive action as directed”.
The Israeli Defence Forces a short while ago also said it has launched another wave of strikes from dozens of fighter jets, aimed at Iranian missile supplies and defence systems.
“The Israeli Air Force has struck more than 30 targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime across Iran, including aerial defense systems, missile launchers, regime targets, and military command centers,” the IDF said in its latest update.
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
