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Iranian state media have confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at his office in the Israeli-US attacks on Iran, following earlier reports of his death by American and Israeli officials.
A 40-day mourning period for the longtime Iranian leader has been announced.
According to Al Jazeera, the Sunday confirmation came after Iran’s Tasnim and Mehr news agencies initially reported that Khamenei remained “steadfast and firm in commanding the field”.
Read more: Explosions hit northern Israel amid US-Israel strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump wrote earlier in the day on his Truth Social account that the 86-year-old leader had been killed in joint US-Israeli strikes that began early on Saturday.
“He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do,” Trump wrote.
“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” he added. “Hopefully, the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots.”
While Iranian authorities have long planned for the possible killing of Khamenei in the event of a war with the US and Israel, his assassination injects new uncertainty into a widening conflict that has already raised fears of further escalation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier claimed there were “growing signs” that Khamenei had been killed.
Additionally, Reuters, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official, reported that Khamenei’s body had been located.
Khamenei has served as Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the architect of Iran’s 1979 revolution. The supreme leader holds ultimate authority over all branches of government, the military and judiciary, while also serving as the country’s spiritual guide.
Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center, told Al Jazeera that Iran “has a plan” in place should Khamenei’s death be confirmed. “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,” she said.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denounced Khamenei’s killing “as a great crime” and vowed a response, according to a statement from his office.
“This great crime will never remain unanswered and will turn a new page in the history of the Islamic world and Shiism. The pure blood of this high-ranking leader will flow like a roaring spring and will eradicate American-Zionist oppression and crime,” the statement read.
“This time too, with all our strength and determination, with the support of the Islamic nation and the free people of the world, we will make the perpetrators and commanders of this great crime regret it,” it added.
Pezeshkian also declared seven days of public holidays in addition to the 40 days of mourning.
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