Iranian state television announced in the early hours of Sunday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in what was described as a U.S.-Israeli attack on Saturday. The broadcaster's voice broke as the announcement was made, reflecting the shock in parts of the country.
Footage from Tehran captured mourners gathered tightly in a central square, many dressed in black and visibly weeping. Those scenes were counterposed by social media videos from other parts of Iran showing celebrations and acts of defiance.
Among the verified videos, residents of Dehloran in Ilam province were shown toppling a statue, while people in Karaj, near Tehran in Alborz province, danced in the streets. In Izeh in Khuzestan province, crowds were seen celebrating. In the southern town of Galleh Dar, a video showed a monument to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini - the founder of the Islamic Republic - being knocked down. In that clip a man could be heard shouting, "Am I dreaming? Hello to the new world!" as fires burned on a traffic circle where the monument had been toppled, drawing cheers and applause.
Another verified clip captured celebrations outside the home of Pooya Jafari, a 15-year-old who was shot dead during anti-government protests in January.
Those protests in January were followed by a severe crackdown that left thousands dead, according to reports, marking the deadliest unrest in Iran since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979. The recent unrest follows a history of major challenges to the leadership, including student demonstrations in 1999 and 2002, widespread unrest in 2009, and the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests in 2022 that were triggered by the death of a young woman while in the custody of the morality police.
The announcement that Khamenei had been killed came in the context of an attack that U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Iran on Saturday. In public remarks tied to that attack, Trump urged Iranians to seize the moment to topple their government.
Reactions at a rally in Tehran reflected a mix of grief and calls for retribution. One man attending the Tehran mourning event said the news had filled him with hatred "towards Israel and America. We must avenge the blood of the leader." A woman quoted in a pool report via WANA said: "We said last night until the morning that God willing, it is a lie. Unfortunately, it was the truth."
Among Iranians contacted, responses ranged from jubilation to deep concern. A 33-year-old woman from Isfahan said she began crying from a mix of joy and disbelief when she heard the news. Speaking from Iran, she said she joined others dancing in the street to "share my happiness with my people" and expressed hope that his death would mean the end of the Islamic Republic. She declined to be named for fear of reprisal.
By contrast, Atousa Mirzade, a primary school teacher in Shiraz, said she could not be happy that the country's leader had been killed by a foreign power. "I also cannot be happy because I don’t know what will happen to our country. We saw what happened in Iraq - chaos and bloodshed. I would prefer the Islamic Republic to that situation," she said.
University student Hossein Dadbakhsh, 21, from Mashhad, expressed a readiness to defend the leader's legacy. "I am ready to sacrifice my life for Islam and for my Imam Khamenei. The Zionist regime and Trump will pay a heavy price for the martyrdom of my leader," he said by phone, his voice trembling with emotion.
The divergent reactions revealed by on-the-ground footage and interviews underscore the polarized state of Iranian society at a moment of acute uncertainty. The immediate aftermath included both large public displays of mourning and spontaneous celebrations that involved the destruction of symbols associated with the Islamic Republic.
At present, reports describe a country where grief and jubilation exist side by side, with calls for vengeance voiced by some and hope for systemic change voiced by others. How these tensions will play out beyond the immediate responses recorded in cities and towns across Iran remains unclear from the available reporting.