Iran’s state media officially announced overnight Saturday into Sunday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has died, hours after Israel — and President Donald Trump — said he was killed in the opening strike of Operation Roaring Lion.
Shortly after reports from Israel, President Donald Trump said Saturday on his Truth Social platform that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been eliminated. Trump described Khamenei as one of the most evil figures in history and said his death constituted justice for the Iranian people, for Americans and for others around the world who had been harmed by him and his associates.
Within hours of the announcement, celebrations were reported in several districts of Tehran. Iran International, a media outlet affiliated with the opposition, aired footage it said showed people marking the killing, which reportedly occurred in the opening strike of Operation Roaring Lion. Additional videos circulated from other locations, including the southern city of Gal-e-Dar, where celebrants were seen toppling a statue of Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Revolution.
Celebrations in Iran after Khamenei’s killing
Trump said Khamenei had been unable to evade U.S. intelligence and surveillance systems and that, in close coordination with Israel, neither he nor other senior leaders killed alongside him could avoid the operation. He called the development a major opportunity for the Iranian people to reclaim their country. Trump also said the United States was receiving indications that members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, military and security forces were seeking immunity rather than continuing to fight.
He expressed hope that the Revolutionary Guard and police would unite peacefully with what he described as Iranian patriots to restore the country. Trump said heavy and precise bombing would continue as long as necessary to achieve what he called peace across the Middle East and beyond.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former shah, said the Islamic Republic had effectively come to an end and would soon pass into history. In a post on X, he said any attempt by remaining regime figures to appoint a successor to Khamenei would lack legitimacy.
In an interview with ABC later Saturday, Trump said he had a clear idea who Iran’s next leader might be but did not provide further details.
First published: 01:12, 03.01.26