Iran Confirms Khamenei's Death and Announces 40 Days of Mourning

SadaNews - Iranian television confirmed on Sunday that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran on Saturday, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his death. The Iranian government declared a public mourning period across the country for 40 days and suspended official offices for 7 days. The Iranian Supreme National Security Council stated that "the martyrdom of leader Ali Khamenei will be the starting point for a great uprising against the tyrants of the world" as they expressed, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guard vowed to take revenge for the assassination of the Supreme Leader. Fars News Agency reported that the Iranian leader was killed in his office while he was at work on Saturday morning. They also quoted sources close to the Iranian leader's office confirming the deaths of his daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter, and son's wife due to the Israeli strikes. Trump stated that Khamenei's death was not only a justice for the Iranian people but for all great Americans, pointing out that the Iranian Supreme Leader could not escape from American intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems, as he noted. He continued that Khamenei and the leaders who were killed with him could not do anything, believing this was the greatest opportunity for the Iranian people to reclaim their homeland, as he described. Regarding the continuation of military operations against Iran, Trump mentioned that intense and precise bombing would continue uninterrupted throughout the week or "as long as necessary". He affirmed that the ongoing bombing aims to achieve peace throughout the Middle East and the world, as he expressed. He also mentioned hearing that many members of the Revolutionary Guard, army, and security forces no longer wanted to fight and sought pardons from the United States, saying, "We hope that the Revolutionary Guard and the police will peacefully integrate with Iranian patriots as one team to restore their country to greatness." In other statements to NBC News, Trump said that most of the people making all the decisions in Iran had "departed". In statements to CBS News, Trump indicated that there are some good candidates to lead Iran after Khamenei's assassination, without providing more details about whom he meant. Trump said, "I know exactly who is in charge in Iran after Khamenei's assassination." CBS News quoted intelligence and military sources confirming the death of about 40 Iranian officials in American and Israeli strikes on Saturday. In parallel, a commander in the Revolutionary Guard told Fars News Agency that the structure of the Iranian system is designed to allow competent people to be appointed immediately upon the death of any of the leaders, emphasizing that "assassinating leaders does not leave the slightest impact on the progression in this battle". In an interview with Axios before announcing Khamenei's death, Trump stated that he has several "alternative options" for the American-Israeli military campaign against Iran, which launched early Saturday. During a 5-minute phone interview, the American president reported from Mar-a-Lago that he could continue the war and control the entire situation or "end it within two or three days". Trump anticipated it would take the Iranians several years to recover from this attack. The site considered that these remarks from the American president offer the first real insight into Trump's thinking on how to resolve this situation, indicating that he is still open to a diplomatic solution, even after the collapse of American-Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva. Trump noted two main reasons for launching strikes; the first was the failure of negotiations this week led by his envoys Steve Mnuchin and Jared Kushner. The American president said, "The Iranians got close and then pulled back, got close and then pulled back. I understood from that they really do not want to reach an agreement." The second reason was Iran's "behavior over the past decades". Trump stated that while writing his speech on Friday announcing the attack, he asked his team to compile all attacks linked to Iran around the world over the past 25 years. He added to Axios, "I saw that they commit a wrongdoing every month, blowing something up or killing someone." Trump also claimed that Iran has begun to rebuild some of the nuclear facilities that the United States and Israel struck during the 12-day war in June 2025. Independent analysts point out that construction activities are ongoing at some nuclear sites but have not concluded that Iran has resumed its nuclear activities. Trump repeatedly emphasized that his decision to launch "Midnight Hammer Operation" - which destroyed or severely damaged three Iranian nuclear facilities - allowed for the current operation. He claimed that if he had not struck the nuclear facilities in June 2025, Iran would have already developed a nuclear weapon, making an attack on it impossible. Later on Saturday, Trump told ABC News that he is optimistic about the American-Israeli attack on Iran and that it is going very well. The United States and Israel launched the largest military operation in the Middle East in a generation, specifically designed not only to weaken Iranian military capabilities but to create conditions that could topple the regime. An American official indicated that the intensive bombing campaign is expected to last at least 5 days. However, as Trump stated to Axios, this timeline is subject to change based on field developments. Trump mentioned that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday after both countries launched their joint operation, considering that they are "very much in agreement."