Iran has been plunged into its gravest crisis since 1979 after state media abruptly confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been “martyred” in overnight U.S.–Israeli strikes on a fortified command complex outside Tehran.

The announcement came in a stunned studio, with anchors in black clothing reading a short statement between Quranic verses before the broadcast cut to footage of mass prayers and emergency meetings. Officials say Khamenei was inside an underground facility “directing the defense of the nation” when bunker‑busting munitions penetrated its deepest levels. No images of the body have yet been shown.

Within minutes, the IRGC declared a state of full war, ordering ballistic‑missile and drone units to maximum alert and calling on proxies from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen to launch “unrelenting resistance” against U.S. and Israeli targets. Armored units have flooded Tehran’s streets as the regime tries to project control while quietly moving to seal sensitive neighborhoods and opposition strongholds.

Behind closed doors, Iran’s clerical and security elites are locked in a succession scramble. The Assembly of Experts and Guardian Council have reportedly convened in secure locations amid deep uncertainty over whether hard‑line commanders or cautious pragmatists will seize the upper hand. On the streets, early reports describe a volatile mix of grief, fear — and in some cities, fireworks and gunfire from crowds who see the death as the end of an era.

Global markets are spiraling as oil prices surge and diplomats warn that the combination of a power vacuum in Tehran and vows of limitless retaliation could drag the entire region — and beyond — into an unpredictable, open‑ended conflict.