Kamal Ghorui
Just minutes after US President Donald Trump announced that “Khamenei is dead,” a cryptic message was shared by Iran’s Supreme Leader’s social media platform XThe message was in Persian, invoking the name of Haidar — the first Shia Imam and a central figure in Shia Islam.“Be nām-e nāmi-ye Heydar, alayhis-salām,” the Persian text read, which translates to: “In the exalted name of Haidar (peace be upon him).”Earlier, Trump announced that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in a joint US-Israel strike on Tehran.In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead.”He claimed the cleric was tracked using “highly sophisticated tracking systems” and described the assassination as “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “many signs” that the 86-year-old leader was “no more.”Iran has not formally confirmed his death. However, senior official Ali Larijani warned that the United States and Israel would “regret their actions,” vowing an “unforgettable lesson” from Iran’s armed forces. Within hours, missiles and drones were launched at Israel and at US military bases across the Gulf.Strikes began around 09:30 Tehran time, with explosions reported near Khamenei’s heavily guarded Leadership House compound. Satellite imagery showed blackened buildings and debris within a kilometre of the site. Israeli officials later said the compound had been destroyed in what they described as a “powerful surprise strike.”Khamenei had ruled since 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Over nearly four decades, he consolidated power over the clerical establishment, judiciary and armed forces.There is no publicly confirmed successor. Constitutionally, a panel of clerics selects the next supreme leader, but analysts warn that in wartime, power could shift to a temporary council or to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).With tensions at boiling point, even minor factional splits could destabilise the political system that Khamenei spent decades fortifying.
