The government of Iran announced this Sunday (03/01/2026) that it has declared 40 days of mourning for the death of its supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who died at the age of 86 due to attacks by the United States and Israel, Iranian state television reported.
Iranian public television confirmed the death of Khamenei this Sunday morning, hours after US President Donald Trump reported the death of Iran’s top leader.
The country’s Revolutionary Guard also confirmed Khamenei’s death and lamented: “We have lost our great leader and we mourn him (….) His martyrdom at the hands of the most terrible terrorists and exterminators of humanity is a symbol of his virtue,” according to a statement collected by the Iranian Fars agency.
“Guardians” promise “severe punishment”
The Revolutionary Guard, an elite ideological army, condemned “the criminal and terrorist acts committed by the evil governments of the United States and the Zionist regime,” and warned that “the vengeful hand of the Iranian nation will not leave them alone until it has inflicted on the murderers of the Imam of the Umma a severe and decisive punishment that they will regret.”
Meanwhile, in an emotional message, a state television presenter who announced Khamenei’s death said the country will enter 40 days of mourning.
Trump had announced on Saturday that Ayatollah Khamenei, who has served as Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, was killed in the attacks and called on the Iranian people to “take back” their country after decades of rule by the ayatollahs.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, has died. This is not only justice for the Iranian people, but for all the great Americans and people in many countries around the world who have been murdered or maimed by Khamenei and his band of bloodthirsty thugs,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
Death of Khamenei’s daughter and other relatives confirmed
The Fars news agency, related to the Revolutionary Guard, reported for its part that the daughter, son-in-law and grandson of the supreme leader were killed in the attacks carried out on Saturday morning by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic.
Likewise, the same media indicated that one of Khamenei’s daughters-in-law died during one of the attacks on Saturday.
The US and Israeli offensive began early Saturday against targets in Tehran and other Iranian cities such as Tabriz (northwest) and Isfahan (center).
The attacks have so far resulted in more than 200 deaths, according to Red Crescent estimates.
The Iranian ambassador to the UN, Amir-Saeid Iravani, assured on Saturday in New York, during an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council, that the attacks constitute “a war crime and a crime against humanity” for the death of innocent civilians, including hundreds of children.
gs (efe, afp, ap)
