{"id":117395,"date":"2026-03-01T06:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T06:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117395"},"modified":"2026-03-01T06:02:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T06:02:00","slug":"iran-declares-40-days-of-national-mourning-after-ayatollah-ali-khameneis-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117395","title":{"rendered":"Iran declares 40 days of national mourning after\u00a0Ayatollah Ali Khamenei\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was killed in a joint American-Israeli operation targeting Iran, state media confirmed on state media Saturday.<\/p>\n

The Iranian government has announced 40 days of mourning.\u00a0The country\u2019s supreme leader\u00a0was killed following an attack launched by the U.S. and Israel on Saturday against Iran as part of a major military campaign intended to topple the Islamic regime.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military said that\u00a0top Iranian security officials\u00a0were among those killed, including the country\u2019s defense minister, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the secretary of the Iranian Security Council, a close adviser to Khamenei.<\/p>\n

Hours earlier, Trump posted on\u00a0Truth Social\u00a0that Israel, with U.S. support, had killed Khamenei.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe 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,\u201d Trump said. He added, \u201cThe heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!\u201d<\/p>\n

Khamenei was killed by an Israeli strike, a person briefed on the strike told NPR. The NPR source requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. Trump did not confirm that the strike was carried out by Israel.<\/p>\n

Iran also did not confirm the deaths of other leaders.<\/p>\n

The wave of airstrikes began after sunrise in Iran, with huge explosions ringing out in the capital Tehran. Videos showed large plumes of thick smoke.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry called the attack a \u201cgross violation\u201d of its national sovereignty. A statement said the airstrikes hit both military and civilian targets.<\/p>\n

The Iranian Red Crescent Society relief group\u00a0said more than 200 people\u00a0were killed in strikes across Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have hit many targets around me and we hear fighter jets and missiles exploding,\u201d said a resident in western Tehran reached by phone before communications were cut in Iran. Like other Iranian residents interviewed by NPR, they did not want to use their names for fear of arrest. \u201cPeople were panicking and trying to get to their homes. Children are running out of school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iranian state media said one of the airstrikes hit a girls\u2019 primary school in southern Iran, killing at least 85 children, according to the local prosecutors office. The prosecutors said more girls were still buried under the rubble. Saturday is the start of the Iranian school and work week. NPR is asking Israeli officials for comment on the report a school was hit.<\/p>\n

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, told NPR on Saturday it was aware of reports about civilians being harmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take these reports seriously and are looking into them,\u201d Hawkins said. \u201cThe protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimize the risk of unintended harm. Unlike Iran, we have never \u2014 and will never \u2014 target civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran responded with missile and drone launches of its own, spreading the conflict to the wider region. Air raid sirens wailed in Israel as it came under attack. Several countries in the Gulf also reported Iranian strikes, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. The Jordanian government, which also hosts major U.S. military bases, reported it downed 49 drones and ballistic missiles threatening its territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,\u201d Trump said in an eight-minute video\u00a0posted on Truth Social.<\/p>\n

Tense lead-up to the strikes<\/h3>\n

The joint U.S.-Israeli attack \u2014 called \u201cEpic Fury\u201d by the Pentagon and \u201cRoaring Lion\u201d by Israel \u2014 came after weeks of escalating tensions and a major U.S. military buildup in the region. The U.S. had said it was trying to negotiate a deal with Iran to limit its nuclear program, holding the most\u00a0recent round of talks\u00a0on Thursday in Geneva. But Trump said those efforts had failed.<\/p>\n

In the run-up to the military strike, analysts speculated on whether Trump might choose a brief, limited attack \u2014 as he has done previously in Iran and many other cases over the past year \u2014 or if he would opt for a more expansive operation. The initial impression \u2014 and the president\u2019s own words \u2014 pointed to a large-scale, open-ended bombardment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated,\u201d Trump said, adding, \u201cWe\u2019re going to annihilate their navy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president claims Iran was rebuilding its nuclear program ahead of the attack \u2014 Trump had often said the program was \u201ctotally obliterated\u201d in the U.S. and Israeli attacks last June.<\/p>\n

Trump also told the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to surrender: \u201cLay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death.\u201d<\/p>\n

The International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitored Iran\u2019s program for years, as well as other nuclear experts, have said there\u2019s no evidence that Iran has resumed the enrichment of uranium, the centerpiece of the program.<\/p>\n

Prior to launching the attack, Trump said he preferred a negotiated deal, but would also welcome regime change. Otherwise, he offered little insight into his ultimate goal in Iran.<\/p>\n

But in his video, he made clear that he wants Iran\u2019s religious leadership, which has ruled for 47 years, to fall.<\/p>\n

Speaking directly to the Iranian people, he told them to take shelter for now, while bombing is taking place. Then, he added, \u201cWhen we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the Iranian security forces brutally suppressed mass street protests last month. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency says\u00a0more than 7,000 people\u00a0were killed. Trump has put the death toll at 32,000 without citing his source.<\/p>\n

A Tehran resident reached by NPR said Saturday that internal security forces were flooding the streets in some residential neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of them are on the streets on motorbikes, showing off their guns,\u201d she said. \u201cThey want to create fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no sign the U.S. will send ground troops into Iran, and military analysts say it will be extremely difficult to topple the government with air power alone.<\/p>\n

Therefore, it\u2019s impossible to say whether Iran\u2019s leadership might be vulnerable to a domestic uprising, or if it would be able to\u00a0crush protests\u00a0as it did earlier this year.<\/p>\n

United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres on Saturday condemned the strikes by the U.S. and Israel, as well as the retaliatory strikes by Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are witnessing a grave threat to international peace and security. Military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world,\u201d Guterres said during an emergency UN Security Council meeting. \u201cLet me be clear: There is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Lasting peace can only be achieved through peaceful means, including genuine dialogue and negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hundreds of targets struck<\/h3>\n

Israel\u2019s military said it completed its biggest air force operation in the country\u2019s history, with about 200 fighter jets hitting about 500 targets in western and central Iran, including aerial defense systems and missile launchers, expanding Israel\u2019s aerial superiority over Iran.<\/p>\n

An Israeli military official told reporters that the U.S. and Israeli militaries spent months building up an extensive bank of targets in Iran and were looking for the right moment to strike when senior Iranian officials would meet. The official said three separate gatherings of senior officials were struck simultaneously Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

Hours before Trump announced the supreme leader\u2019s death, NPR was told by a person briefed on the strikes that Israel\u2019s assessment was that Supreme Leader Khamenei was hit, and later, from another source with knowledge of the strikes, that he was killed by an Israeli strike.<\/p>\n

That account conflicts with what Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier\u00a0told NBC News\u00a0\u2014 that Khamenei and Iran\u2019s president were still alive \u201cas far as I know,\u201d as were other top officials.<\/p>\n

The military said the operation was conducted with \u201cfull synchronization and coordination\u201d between the Israeli and U.S. militaries.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Netanyahu said the goal of the joint U.S.-Israeli attack is to \u201cremove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands,\u201d Netanyahu said in a video.<\/p>\n

A person briefed on the operation told NPR it was expected to last a few days, with Israel\u2019s military focusing on targeting Iran\u2019s missile program.<\/p>\n

Israel has closed its airspace to all passenger flights, and civil defense protocols have been activated. Regional military forces remain on high alert.<\/p>\n

A 48-hour state of emergency was declared nationwide. Air raid sirens sounded across Israel, with authorities warning civilians to enter bomb shelters.<\/p>\n

Trails of smoke streaked the sky above Tel Aviv as Israeli interception systems fired at incoming missiles. A hospital in central Israel began moving operations to an underground fortified compound.<\/p>\n

In the Gulf, several countries offered details on Iranian attacks.<\/p>\n

Bahrain\u2019s government said an Iranian airstrike hit the U.S. naval base that is home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet.<\/p>\n

The United Arab Emirates, another U.S. ally, said it intercepted Iranian missiles. It said shrapnel from one of the missiles killed a national of an unspecified Asian country in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt\u00a0said<\/u>\u00a0Saturday afternoon that the president has spoken with leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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