Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has been killed, state media confirms

 India calls for restraint

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has been killed, state media confirms

Iranian state media has now reported that the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has indeed been killed.

40 days of public mourning and seven days of public holidays will be observed in Iran after he was killed at his office in the early hours of Saturday, state media reported.

Several hours ago, Donald Trump announced on social media that Khamenei had been killed in the US-Israeli strikes hit at least four buildings in the supreme leader’s compound in Tehran on Saturday morning.

U.S. and Israel Strike Iran in Operation Epic Fury, Kill Supreme Leader Khamenei

The joint strikes hit IRGC centers, air defenses, missile facilities, and nuclear remnants across nine Iranian cities, with state media confirming Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death at his Tehran compound.

Iran retaliated with missiles at Israel—killing one civilian and injuring over 100—and U.S. bases in Gulf states, causing deaths in Abu Dhabi and disruptions in Dubai. Trump monitored from Mar-a-Lago, urging Iranians to rise up, while Netanyahu thanked him for eliminating an existential threat; casualties in Iran reached at least 201, including unconfirmed reports of a school strike.

India & Middle East: updating

- 8.9 mn Indian citizens - 48% of oil imports

- 68% of LNG imports - at least 38% of remittances to India - 15% of goods export mkt

- a top Indian arms source - growing investment

When 9/11 happened, Iran was one of the first countries that condemned the terror attack. It even helped the Americans in the war against Qaeda/Taliban. Bush returned the favour by calling Iran, along with Iraq and North Korea, as an axis of evil. That was a warning sign. The North Koreans, who had the institutional memory of the  devastating American bombing of 1950-53, moved swiftly to make a bomb. I would say they were smart.  The Iranians chose not to make one. They thought the axis would give them deterrence while an advanced nuclear programme would provide them diplomatic cards. Khamenei even issued a fatwa against the bomb! 

In 2015, they signed a deal, agreeing to limit the nuclear programme. They were fully compliant with the terms of the agreement. Trump returned the favour by tearing the deal apart in 2018. The rest is history. 

I wrote this in June 2025: In a treacherous world like ours, nuclear weapons are the ultimate deterrent. If you make a bomb, make it, don't talk. Iran is being bombed not because it wants to make a bomb, but because it did not make one. 

It's too early to make predictions about which way the war is headed, but this one will have far-reaching consequences in West Asia. This is far bigger than the June war.

(Stanly Johny) 

Kamala Harris, ex US Vice President 

Donald Trump is dragging the United States into a war the American people do not want. Let me be clear: I am opposed to a regime-change war in Iran, and our troops are being put in harm’s way for the sake of Trump’s war of choice.