Protests broke out on Sunday across Iran following the announcement that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in US and Israeli military strikes.
The developments have dramatically escalated tensions in the Middle East and triggered widespread public reaction within Iran, news agencies reported.
Iran’s state television early confirmed that Khamenei was killed during the US‑Israel attacks, declaring that Iran’s “Islamic revolution leader has reached martyrdom.” The government also instituted a 40‑day national period of mourning and a seven-day official holiday.
Large crowds took to the streets in cities across Iran in response to the news of Khamenei’s death, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported. The agency quoted Iranian media saying that demonstrators bearing Iranian flags gathered at urban centers to voice their grief.
In Tehran, hundreds assembled in Inkilap Square, raising flags and posters of Khamenei, and shouting slogans condemning the US and Israel amid cries for ‘inteqam’ or revenge, news agency AFP said
People were also reported from Lorestan province, where men and women were seen marching in videos condemning the US and Israel, “Neither compromise nor surrender, fight against America,” protesters chanted as per Tehran Times.
In the city of Qom, too, hundreds gathered at the shrine of Hazrat Masumeh to denounce the attacks. In Mashhad, mourners observed a symbolic gesture of grief by draping a black flag over the dome of the Imam Reza Shrine, one of Iran’s most revered religious sites, and many were seen shedding tears in the surrounding area of the shrine, the news agencies said.
Iran, however, continues its retaliatory attacks after Saturday’s strikes by the US and Israel. Multiple reports suggested that Israel is on high alert on Sunday after Iran launched a missile attack, with sirens sounding across Tel Aviv and other parts of the country. Phones across Israel sounded an advanced alert warning residents that a missile, rocket or drone attack was on the way, shortly before air raid sirens were activated in Israel during an Iranian missile attack on Sunday, news agencies reported.
‘More missiles were fired from Iran’
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed that missiles were fired from Iran, prompting a nationwide state of emergency. Residents are being advised to stay near shelters and follow official instructions.
Crowds gathered on Sunday in Iran’s south to call for vengeance following Khamenei’s killing, international news agencies reported.
Demonstrators carrying portraits of Khamenei in the city of Shiraz called on the armed forces to avenge his death, while chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”, a video carried by Tasnim news agency showed.
What next in Iran?
In a statement following the announcement of Khamenei’s death, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said the Iranian nation has lost a great leader, “one who, in purity of spirit, strength of faith, prudence in affairs, courage against the arrogant powers, and striving in the path of God, was unmatched in his era.”
“His martyrdom at the hands of the most wretched terrorists and executioners of humanity is a sign of the righteousness of this great leader and the acceptance of his sincere services,” read the IRGC statement.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, was quoted by Tasnim news agency, announcing that a provisional leadership council would be formed today in accordance with the Constitution.
Speaking to the state TV on Sunday, Larijani emphasized that the Iranian nation, through its presence, has thwarted the plans of the United States and the Zionist regime.
Death to America and Death to Israel were chanted by protesters in Shiraz.
Larijani said that the Iranian nation, by preserving its unity and maturity, has neutralized the US and Israeli plots and broken the spell that the enemies had designed for the disintegration and dissolution of Iran.
