Iranian state television and the official IRNA news agency confirmed on Sunday that 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli air force attack the previous day. 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 became supreme leader in 1989 after the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini. Over decades he exercised tight control over Iran’s political system, leaving little room for dissent. News of his death produced sharply divided reactions across the country: opponents celebrated in the streets while supporters publicly 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 added, while state media confirmation on Sunday also reported mourning ceremonies among regime supporters in central Tehran.
Parsa (name changed), an Iranian living abroad, said he felt a heavy burden lift and hoped dignity and joy would return to his country. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late pro-Western shah deposed in 1979, said any successor from inside the current 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.
Supporters of Khamenei reacted with grief and anger. A man quoted by the Mehr news agency said: “We are grieving, but just like when Imam (Ruhollah) Khomeini passed away, the Revolution endured, the system endured… God willing, we will take revenge.” 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 on 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 country’s future is uncertain. For decades, she noted, 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, adding that many would have preferred to see him held accountable through a fair trial. She described his absence as symbolically significant and said it “opens a small window of hope that meaningful change may still be possible.”
The situation remains volatile, with vows of retaliation and starkly different public reactions underscoring deep divisions inside Iran and the wider region. Edited by Ole Tangen Jr.