Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli attacks on the country, Tehran confirmed, a death that will upend Iranian politics with no clear successor in sight amid huge international pressure on the regime and domestic anger following a crackdown on dissent.
Khamenei had ruled Iran since 1989, seeing off opponents at home while extending Tehran’s power across the Middle East via a network of proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
Under his watch, Iran developed a nuclear program that Western powers say is aimed at developing an atomic bomb — Tehran insists it is for peaceful purposes — resulting in brutal sanctions that have isolated and crippled the country’s economy. The latest strikes by the US and Israel came amid negotiations over that nuclear program that had been due to resume within days.
US President Donald Trump had threatened huge attacks on Iran last month over the authorities’ crackdown on protests that left thousands dead. He had backed off that warning, until the strikes on Saturday.