Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Iran’s Supreme Leader, West’s Fiercest Critic Dies In US-Israel Airstrike

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been killed in Saturday’s strikes carried out by Israel and the United States, according to Iranian state media. Khamenei “was carrying out his assigned duties and was present at his workplace (his office)” at the time of the attack, state broadcasters announced early on Sunday morning.

The update comes on day two of cross-border attacks in the region. Iranian armed forces targeted US bases across the Gulf as well as Israeli cities. Meanwhile, early on Sunday morning, Israel’s military said it carried out strikes in central and western Iran that targeted “ballistic missile arrays and aerial defence systems.” It said over 30 targets were hit.

The death of the head of the Islamic Republic was first reported by Israeli officials yesterday, following which US President Donald Trump also told US media that Khamenei had died in the bombing targeting his home. Satellite imagery showed extensive damage to the Supreme Leader’s compound in Tehran, which was among the first targets hit in the bombing campaign.

“This cowardly attack occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning,” state media said, adding that Iran has announced 40 days of public mourning.

“We have lost a great leader and we are mourning him — a leader who was unique in terms of purity of spirit, strength of faith, resourcefulness in affairs, courage in the face of the arrogant, and jihad in the path of God,” a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said.

Who Was Ali Khamenei?

Khamenei’s death would mark a profound shock to the Islamic Republic, which he led for more than three decades. He came to power in 1989, a decade after the Islamic revolution that overthrew Iran’s monarchy and reshaped the Middle East. Ali Khamenei succeeded the Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini.

At 86, Khamenei had been a steadfast opponent of the West, suppressing domestic dissent while backing proxy forces across the region to project Iranian power and deterrence.

He consolidated power through Iran’s security establishment, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij paramilitary force, which were used to suppress major anti-government protests like 2009 and 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini.

Khamenei maintained a consistently adversarial stance towards the United States, while backing Iran’s regional allies across the West Asia.

During his tenure, Iran expanded its ballistic missile programme and regional influence through allied groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

Before becoming Supreme Leader, Khamenei served as Iran’s president and held key defence roles during the Iran–Iraq War. He survived an assassination attempt in 1981 that left his right arm paralysed.

He led Iran for more than three decades, shaping its domestic security policies and foreign strategy.

An Associated Press report claimed that mourners hoisted a black flag atop the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, the country’s second-largest city and one of the most important pilgrimage centres for Shia Muslims.

The news agency also reported that the daughter and son-in-law of Iran’s Supreme Leader were among those killed in US–Israeli strikes on Saturday. The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a senior security adviser to the late Supreme Leader are also said to have been killed in the American–Israeli airstrikes.

The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency confirmed the death of Major General Mohammad Pakpour, who had assumed command of the Guard after Israel killed his predecessor during the 12-day conflict in June.

Who Will Lead Iran Now?

Following the killing of Ali Khamenei, a constitutionally mandated council has been formed to oversee governance in Iran. The body comprises the sitting president, the head of the judiciary, and a member of the Guardian Council selected by the Expediency Council, which advises the Supreme Leader and mediates disputes with Parliament.

Reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei are part of the council.

Under Iranian law, the Assembly of Experts is required to appoint a new Supreme Leader as soon as possible.