Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on Saturday following coordinated military strikes by the United States and Israel against sites in Tehran.
A man who had ruled one of the most powerful and feared regimes in the world for 36 years. Someone who had survived multiple attempts on his life, wars, economic sanctions, uprisings, and years of being labeled as the United States’ number one enemy, was killed in his own office. The world is now reacting in different ways: some are horrified, others relieved, and many are deeply uncertain about the future.
Who was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, really?
To many outside Iran, Khamenei was a symbol of resistance in Western media as representing everything opposing Iran. But to understand why his death is significant, it’s important to grasp what he built over those 36 years.
When Khamenei came to power in 1989, Iran was still recovering from an eight-year war with Iraq.He inherited a fragile revolutionary state and transformed it into a regional power that operated outside the usual international norms.
Rather than building a traditional military empire, he created a network of influence. Groups like Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and militant factions across Iraq and Syria were all part of this structure. This network of influence stretched from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. To his supporters, he was a bold figure standing up to the United States. To his critics, especially within Iran, he was a tyrant who neglected the well-being of his people to fund wars abroad. In many ways, both views had some truth.
Ali Khamenei was killed in American-Israeli strikes
In the early hours of Saturday, US and Israeli forces launched coordinated attacks on Tehran. These strikes targeted not just military sites, but also the leadership itself. Khamenei was in his office when the building was hit. Unfortunately, he did not survive the attack.
Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, confirmed his death on Sunday, though by that time, former President Donald Trump had already announced it on Truth Social. According to AFP, citing reports from two major Israeli TV networks, photos of Khamenei’s body were sent directly to Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as proof of the strike’s success. Intelligence officials located his body in the rubble of his compound in downtown Tehran.
This was a grim and cynical act. Killing a leader of one country is a serious move, and from a strategic standpoint, it was a significant and historic strike.
But Wait, It Wasn’t Just him who got killed
The strikes didn’t just kill the Supreme Leader.They also targeted nearly the entire top military command in what appeared to be a carefully planned decapitation operation. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, who had recently taken over the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after his predecessor was killed in last year’s 12-day conflict with Israel, was among the casualties. So were Iran’s army chief, Abdolrahim Mousavi, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, and Ali Shamkhani, a senior national security figure who had previously survived an Israeli airstrike in June 2025.
This is not just a leadership crisis but it’s a severe institutional collapse at a critical moment.
Why did the US and Israel strike Iran so violently? What led to this?
This did not happen out of the blue.Iran has been gradually weakening for some time now. Years of harsh Western sanctions had already weakened the economy. In June 2025, Israeli strikes destroyed key nuclear facilities and killed several senior nuclear scientists. Then, protests sparked by economic hardship quickly spread across all 31 provinces within weeks.
Instead of addressing the crisis, the Iranian government responded with extreme force: over 7,000 protesters were killed, tens of thousands were arrested, and more than 11,000 deaths are still under investigation by the US-based human rights group HRANA.
The Trump administration had issued warnings, but since Iran was sensing the pressure, it had actually begun negotiations.Three rounds of nuclear talks took place in February: first in Oman, then in Geneva, and again in Geneva. The last round ended on February 26 with both sides agreeing to meet again the very next week.
But just two days later, the bombs fell.
Mourning and Celebrations: Two Sides of the Same Coin
What happened in Tehran after the news broke tells you everything you need to know about Khamenei’s rule. In some parts of the city, crowds gathered in mourning, holding up his portrait, chanting, and weeping. Ali Larijani, a senior security official, posted a furious warning on X: “The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors.”
In other parts of those same streets, people were celebrating.They were dancing, setting off fireworks, and defying lockdown orders to celebrate in public. Witnesses told AFP that spontaneous cheers echoed through neighborhoods across Tehran. Videos circulated widely on social media showing people laughing and crying happy tears.
US-Israel remarks over Ali Khamenei killing
“We have a common enemy, the murderous regime of the Ayatollahs that has taken over you through oppressive forces. They are the ones who have degraded your wonderful country, brought it to the lowest point, and they are the ones who slaughtered you en masse,” Netanyahu had said.
“The Iranian people in all their diversity – Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Balochs, Abkhazians, and all other citizens of this wonderful nation – this is your opportunity to establish a new and free Iran. Take your destiny into your own hands. Hold your head high, look to the skies, our forces are there, the pilots of the free world, all coming to your aid. Help has arrived. And I believe the day is not far when Israel and a free Iran will join hands for the sake of security and peace, for the sake of progress and prosperity,” he declared.
Trump adopted a similar approach, trying to get the Iranian people on the side of the US and Israel.
“To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations,” the US president said.
Rising concerns of conflicts in West Asia
Iran wasted no time revenging. Missiles and drones were launched across the Gulf, that is, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan all reported strikes or interceptions.
The US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain was targeted. Kuwait reported a drone strike near its main transnational field, injuring several workers and colors, and Jordan said it “ dealt with ” 49 drones and ballistic dumdums. The Houthis in Yemen blazoned they were continuing attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reportedly transmitted warnings that vessels were no longer permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
What does the future hold?
This is the second time in under a century that the United States has taken action to remove an Iranian leader from power.In 1953, Mohammad Mossadegh, a secular and democratically elected prime minister, was overthrown in a military coup supported by the CIA and British intelligence after he nationalized Iran’s oil industry.
Whether this historical precedent leads to a similar outcome or results in something far more dangerous and chaotic is uncertain at this time. What we do know is that the man who has shaped the Middle East for nearly four decades is no longer in power. The world he left behind is more uncertain than it has been in a generation.
Disclaimer: Decode Journalism takes the utmost care to accurately and responsibly report conflicts in West Asia. Claims and counterclaims are being made online and offline. Decode Journalism cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.
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