Intense U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have forced Iran to postpone the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed alongside his wife, an adult son, and senior officials in the assault’s first wave last Saturday.
The 86-year-old, who gripped Iran’s politics and military since succeeding founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, was due for a three-day commemoration at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla prayer hall starting Wednesday evening, where throngs would pay respects to his body in state.
But Seyyed Mohsen Mahmoudi of Tehran province’s Islamic Propaganda Co-ordination Council announced a delay to Tasnim News Agency, citing overwhelming public requests and the urgent need for proper facilities amid the chaos.
State media captured loyalists protesting the attacks in Tehran streets, yet social media overflowed with videos of jubilant crowds celebrating in the capital and beyond—echoing late December’s uprising, crushed by Khamenei’s forces with over 6,480 deaths, according to Amnesty International.
Now, the Assembly of Experts, a handpicked clerical body, nears selecting his heir; member Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami told state TV, “The supreme leader will be identified in the closest opportunity, we are close to a conclusion. However, the situation in the country is a war situation.”
Reuters sources tip Khamenei’s shadowy son Mojtaba, 56, with deep IRGC ties, as favourite—though Israel’s defence minister vows to eliminate any threat-making successor.
U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth heralded looming total air superiority and control, declaring, “This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they’re down.”
He confirmed a submarine sank Iran’s Iris Dena frigate off Sri Lanka—“[The warship] thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death,” leaving 80 dead, 32 rescued. Iran’s Ali Larijani accused Trump of having “dragged the American people into an unjust war.”
Over 100 IDF jets hammered Tehran targets Wednesday, including an F-35’s historic manned jet kill. Casualties mount: Iran reports 1,045 dead; monitors tally 1,097 civilians. Iran’s missile and drone reprisals have killed 10 in Israel and struck Gulf hosts, slaying a Kuwaiti girl and others—prompting arrests and intercepts across the region.