Tehran, March 1 (SANA) Iranian state television officially announced the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei following U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran on Saturday.
The Iranian government said Sunday it would observe 40 days of mourning and close government offices for seven days.
The Revolutionary Guard vowed “crushing and decisive revenge” against those responsible for Khamenei’s death, saying the assassination “will not stop his path but will continue with strength.”
Earlier Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Khamenei’s death, describing him as “one of the most evil figures in history” and saying his death “is not only justice for the Iranian people, but for all Americans, and for all his victims and his criminal gang.”
Trump said Khamenei had been unable to evade tracking by U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies, adding that what had occurred represented the greatest opportunity for the Iranian people to reclaim their country.
On Saturday, the United States and Israel launched a series of strikes on targets inside Iran, including in the capital, Tehran, using precision munitions fired from air, land and sea, resulting in the deaths of a number of senior Iranian leaders, including Khamenei, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard and the defense minister.
Iran responded with missile strikes on Israel, killing one Israeli woman and injuring more than 100 people. Iranian strikes also targeted U.S. military installations and sites in several Gulf states, causing civilian casualties in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar
