Protests broke out across parts of Jammu and Kashmir after Iran confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian state media reported that the Ayatollah died in the early hours of Saturday during the joint military strikes carried out by Israel and the United States.
Demonstrations were reported from Srinagar and Bandipora. Protesters raised slogans and expressed anger over the reported attack. Hundreds of Kashmiri Shia Muslims were on the streets carrying pictures of Khamenei and banners supporting Iran. Follow LIVE updates on Iran US conflict here
Black flags, portraits of the Ayatollah, and traditional mourning chants (Nauha) were witnessed on the streets of Srinagar.
A protester told news agency ANI, “We have received news from Iran that revolutionary Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is no more. He has been brutally killed by the US and Israel… We are all saddened by this incident…”For the Shia Muslim community in Srinagar, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was more than a foreign political leader; he was a Marja-e-Taqlid (a Source of Emulation).
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the cleric who consolidated theocratic power for more than three decades and steered the Islamic Republic into confrontation with Israel and the United States, died at 86, Iranian state media reported early Sunday.
Mehbooba Mufti criticises US-Israel attack on Iran
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday strongly criticised Israel and the United States following reports of the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
In a statement, Mufti described the development as a “deeply tragic & shameful point in history”. She accused Israel and the US of “boasting about the killing of Iran’s beloved leader Ayatollah Ali Khanenei”.
The PDP chief also expressed disappointment over what she called the silence and support of several Muslim nations.
“What’s more disgraceful & shocking is the explicit & implicit support given by Muslim countries who chose convenience & expedience over conscience,” she said.
Mufti added that history would judge those who stood by Iran and those who, in her view, sided with oppressors.
“History will stand testaments to who fought for justice & who helped the oppressors,” she stated.
Khamenei killed in US-Israel strikes: What we know
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israel strikes.
Israeli and US forces launched major strikes Saturday against military and nuclear-linked sites across the country.
Khamenei’s death comes at a moment of extraordinary escalation, after months of mounting tensions and days of direct exchanges between Iran, Israel and the United States.
From Khomeini’s successor to the Islamic Republic’s longest-serving ruler
Khamenei took power in 1989 following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the architect of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and installed clerical rule. Where Khomeini was a charismatic ideologue, Khamenei – then a relatively low-ranking cleric – was seen as a quieter, more bureaucratic figure tasked with turning revolutionary zeal into a durable state.
He ended up ruling longer than Khomeini. Over 35 years, Khamenei expanded the clerical establishment and transformed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) into the backbone of his authority. The Guard evolved into Iran’s most elite military force, controller of its ballistic missile arsenal and a vast business empire spanning energy, construction, telecommunications and finance.
Through a network of appointed bodies that could veto or override elected institutions, Khamenei became the ultimate arbiter of political life. Hard-liners described him as second only to God in authority.