Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency confirmed on Sunday that 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli air force attack on Saturday. The announcement followed a social media post by US President Donald Trump saying Khamenei, “one of the most evil people in history,” had been killed.
Khamenei, appointed supreme leader in 1989 after the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini, presided over Iran with tight control that left little room for dissent or political freedom. News of his death produced sharply divided reactions across Iran: opponents celebrated in the streets while supporters mourned.
Some Iranians told DW they felt relief. “Last night, scores of people in my neighborhood in western Tehran came out to the streets to celebrate,” said Sara (name changed), a woman in her thirties. “People were honking their cars continuously. I am truly happy. I never thought I would see this day,” she said, adding that state media confirmation on Sunday also drew mourning ceremonies from regime supporters in central Tehran.
Parsa (name changed), an Iranian living abroad, said he felt a heavy burden lift from his shoulders and hoped dignity and joy would return to his country. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late pro-Western shah deposed in the 1979 revolution, said any successor from within the regime would be illegitimate. “With his death, the Islamic Republic has effectively come to an end and will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history,” Pahlavi said in a message to Iranians from the US, where he lives.
Khamenei’s supporters reacted with grief and anger. “We are grieving, but just like when Imam (Ruhollah) Khomeini passed away, the Revolution endured, the system endured… God willing, we will take revenge,” an Iranian man told the Mehr news agency. Authorities announced a 40-day period of mourning.
The confirmation came amid continuing exchanges of strikes. Israel said it launched a series of “extensive” strikes in the “heart of Tehran” on Sunday, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister had also been killed in the airstrikes. Iran vowed to retaliate with fiercer attacks on Israel and US bases in the region following Khamenei’s killing. A regime supporter quoted by news agencies warned: “Tell the world to be afraid of a nation that has nothing left to lose. You would have to walk over each and every one of our bodies.” Another vowed to “avenge the blood of our leader.”
London-based human rights and gender equality advocate Samaneh Savadi told DW that while many Iranians welcome Khamenei’s death, the future is uncertain. For decades, she said, criticizing the supreme leader was effectively criminalized and he is widely seen as responsible for repression, violence and human rights abuses. “Many people I know express relief that he is no longer alive… at the same time, his death is not viewed as justice,” Savadi said, noting that many Iranians would have preferred to see him held accountable through a fair trial. She added that his absence carries symbolic significance and “opens a small window of hope that meaningful change may still be possible.”
Edited by Ole Tangen Jr
