Iran announces death of Khamenei and declares 40 days of national mourning

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had led Iran since 1989 and was a staunch adversary of the West, was killed in the initial wave of a large-scale US and Israeli assault that continued into a second day on Sunday, as both countries moved to bring down the Islamic Republic.

Iranian state television confirmed his death early Sunday, just hours after President Donald Trump announced that the 86-year-old cleric had been killed, calling him “one of the most evil people in history.”

Witnesses told AFP that cheers erupted in parts of Tehran after Israeli reports first broke the news of Khamenei’s death, while thick plumes of black smoke were seen rising over the district where he was known to reside.