Iran confirms Khamenei's death, declares 40 days of mourning

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi has welcomed US and Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying the moment could mark a turning point in Iran’s long struggle against the Islamic Republic.

Writing in an op-ed for The Washington Post, Pahlavi thanked President Donald Trump for supporting the Iranian people and said the final outcome will depend on Iranians themselves.

“Even with U.S. and Israeli assistance, the final victory will be forged by the Iranian people,” he wrote, arguing that a democratic Iran could transform the Middle East.

President Donald Trump said he knows who is effectively “calling the shots” in Iran after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s killing in US and Israeli strikes, but declined to reveal the name.

“I know exactly who, but I can’t tell you,” Trump told CBS News in a phone interview Saturday.

Asked whether there was someone he would like to see lead Iran, he replied: “Yes, I think so. There are some good candidates.”

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the United States launched “Operation Epic Fury,” which he described as the “most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation in history,” carried out overnight on the orders of Donald Trump.

Hegseth said on X that the US aimed to destroy Iran’s missile program.

"The United States did not start this conflict, but we will finish it. If you kill or threaten Americans anywhere in the world — as Iran has — then we will hunt you down, and we will kill you," he said.

Emirati authorities confirmed on Saturday that the Dubai International Airport was hit during Iran’s retaliatory strikes against the US and Israel.

Footage shows significant damage to one of the terminals.

The Media Office of the Government of Dubai tweeted that four airport staffers were injured and are currently receiving medical treatment.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei served as justice for Iranians, Americans and others around the world who were killed or maimed by him and his allies.

“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

Trump said the killing created what he called a rare opening for Iranians to “take back their Country,” adding he was hearing some members of Iran’s security forces no longer wanted to fight and were seeking immunity.

He said the United States would keep up “heavy and pinpoint bombing” for as long as needed to achieve “peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world.”