France's Foreign Ministry confirms Nasrallah's death

The rial was trading at 612,000 to the US dollar on Saturday, compared with 592,000 on September 20, when Hezbollah began to suffer mass casualties as a result of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies. As Israeli air strikes intensified in Lebanon earlier this week and culminated in the reported killing of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, the rial dipped further.

Since 2018, when the US withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear deal and imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and international banking, the rial has lost 15 times its value. In the past three years alone, it has depreciated by 50%.

This sharp devaluation has coincided with soaring inflation, now hovering between 40-50%, pushing tens of millions of Iranians into poverty and creating a potentially volatile public mood.

The Iranian government has been quietly signaling an interest in new negotiations with the West this month to reduce sanctions, but so far, the US and its European allies maintain that only a genuine change in behavior will lead to talks."

While Reuters cited unnamed sources as saying that Khamenei has been moved to secure location, the Supreme Leader issued a massage Saturday, calling on Muslims "to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the ... wicked regime (of Israel)".

"Zionist criminals should know that they are far too insignificant to inflict any serious damage on the strong foundation of Hezbollah in Lebanon. All the resistance forces in the region stand alongside and support Hezbollah. The fate of this region will be determined by the resistance forces, with Hezbollah at the forefront,” he said in his message.

He added that "the Zionist regime had failed to learn from its year-long criminal war in Gaza" and was now repeating the same mistakes in Lebanon.

The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed Nasrallah in an airstrike on the group's central headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday. However, uncertainty persists about the status of Hezbollah's leader as no official reaction has been made by the group or the Islamic Republic.

The Israeli military "eliminated ... Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization," Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a statement on X.

Later, in a briefing with reporters the IDF spokesman confirmed the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and added: "I want to say this very clearly—Nasrallah was one of the world's strongest and most influential terrorists, and one of the terrorists with the most capabilities in the world. He was a real threat, with the blood of thousands of people on his hands."

Government-controlled media in Tehran was simply repeating the news about the IDF announcement, while large banners were installed in the capital proclaiming “Hezbollah is alive.” There have been no explicit Iranian threats about a potential retaliation against Israel, although some hardliners have voiced the need for revenge.

In his address following the IDF's report on the death of Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei condemned the Israeli attacks in Lebanon, calling them further proof of "the foolish policies" of the leaders of the "usurping regime." He remarked that "the Zionist regime had failed to learn from its year-long criminal war in Gaza" and was now repeating the same mistakes in Lebanon.

Khamenei warned that the "Zionist regime" was "too insignificant to inflict any significant damage on the strong foundation of Hezbollah in Lebanon." He stressed that the entire "Resistance Front"—a term used to refer to Iranian-backed groups across the region—remains united in support of Hezbollah, declaring that "the fate of this region will be determined by the Resistance forces, with Hezbollah at their forefront."

The conservative Nameh News website quoted Tehran University lecturer Foad Izadi, who criticized certain Iranian politicians for repeatedly advocating negotiations with the United States, despite the lack of any signals from US officials indicating interest in dialogue.

Nameh News argued that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have dramatically changed the international landscape compared to when former President Hassan Rouhani attended the 2013 UNGA meeting, winning over American hearts and minds with a well-calculated publicity move. The website quoted Tehran University lecturer Foad Izadi, who noted that President Joe Biden referred to the 'Iranian threat' in his UNGA speech, and claimed that US presidents have consistently spoken against the Islamic Republic for the past 45 years.

Izadi went on to criticize those who believed Pezeshkian could revive the 2015 nuclear talks during his visit to New York, arguing that they have demonstrated a lack of true expertise. He pointed out that White House National Security Advisor John Kirby has already made it clear that, despite Pezeshkian’s calls for normalizing Iran’s relations with the West and even Israel, there is no possibility of negotiations with Iran.

The hardline academic noted that the negative reactions from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller and President Joe Biden following Pezeshkian's pacifist remarks made the situation clear. Izadi further claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris’s stance on Iran is aligned with Biden’s, and referenced former President Trump’s actions, specifically the assassination of IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani. Izadi concluded, “No US official has made even a half-hearted positive comment about Iran."

Hardliners at the Iranian state TV have been using their influence to edit out Pezeshkian's positive comments about ties with the West from his speeches. Asr Iran website noted that news bulletins on the day after the speech did not broadcast key parts of Pezeshkian's UNGA speech.

According to Asr Iran, the state TV only aired the portion of the Iranian president's speech in which he condemned Israel's atrocities and criticized the United States for imposing sanctions on Iran and deploying forces in the region. The report noted that even this segment of the speech was broadcast half an hour into the main news bulletin.

There was also no mention of Pezeshkian's comments in which he said during a meeting with US media representatives: "We have no war to wage against any country."

Meanwhile, Nameh News quoted 'reformist' commentator Esmail Gerami Moqaddam, who remarked that 'hardliners are upset by Pezeshkian's pacifist remarks.' He claimed that Pezeshkian's statements have garnered positive international reactions, demonstrating to the world that Iran is pursuing peace and justice. Nameh News further asserted that these remarks have left Israel increasingly isolated in the international community.

Gerami Moqaddam said: "Hardliners in Iran are angry about Pezeshkian's pacifist stances because they want Iran to be sanctioned and even enter into a war as they benefit from sanctions. They welcome tension while the new government wants to have good ties with both East and West."

The politician said: "Through dialogue we can even make the United States to step back from its positions, but both Israel and Iran's hardliners do not want that." Iranians want the sanctions to be lifted and that is why they voted for Pezeshkian as their president, Gerami Moqaddam said.

IDF Spokesperson confirmed the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah: "I want to say this very clearly—Nasrallah was one of the world's strongest and most influential terrorists, and one of the terrorists with the most capabilities in the world. He was a real threat, with the blood of thousands of people on his hands."

Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani continued to say he was with other senior commanders during the strike, which targeted the senior chain of command while they were operating against Israel. Shoshani also confirmed the death of Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, along with other senior leaders, during the attacks.

Commenting on the operation that killed Nasrallah, he said, " The target was an underground complex beneath a residential building, and we had real-time intelligence along with an operational opportunity that allowed us to execute the strike. As I mentioned before, every operation is based on extensive intelligence and careful understanding beforehand.

"We are focusing on eliminating the threats of terror attacks, including guided missiles that could be launched at strategic points."

Addressing the possibility of increased conflict, the IDF spokesman said: "We are ready for a wider escalation."