Protests erupted in Iran on Sunday after Iranian state media announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been martyred, aged 86, in air strikes by Israel and the United States that Iranian media said pulverised his central Tehran compound.
Khamenei’s 36-year rule built Iran into a powerful anti-US force and extended its military sway across the Middle East, as decades of efforts to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme through diplomacy ultimately failed.
Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei had been martyred in Israeli and US strikes. The Fars agency reported that the Iranian government declared 40 days of public mourning and announced seven days of public holidays.
People react as they gather at the Enghelab Square, after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. — Reuters
A woman holds a poster with the picture of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as people gather after Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. — Reuters
People gather to mourn after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. — Reuters
People gather to mourn after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. — Reuters
People of Iran in different cities took to the streets early in the morning on March 1, 2026, to mourn the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. — X/@IrnaEnglish
People react as they gather at the Enghelab Square, after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. — Reuters
People gather to mourn after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. — Reuters
People react as they gather at the Enghelab Square, after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. — Reuters
People of Iran in different cities took to the streets early in the morning on March 1, 2026, to mourn the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. — X/@IrnaEnglish
People of Iran in different cities took to the streets early in the morning on March 1, 2026, to mourn the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. — X/@IrnaEnglish
