Iran has confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died in joint US and Israeli strikes.
The Supreme Leader's daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were also killed in the bombardment on his home in Tehran in the early hours of Saturday.
The family deaths were reported by state media on Sunday, just hours before Iran's military made a promise to lead its most ferocious counterattacks on the US and Israel in history.
Iranian missiles are hitting Dubai and Bahrain again today, after Tehran's suicide drones yesterday hit Dubai's famous Palm Jumeirah, Dubai international airport and residential skyscrapers in Bahrain
Khamenei, 86, was killed in the airstrike after Israeli jets dropped 30 bombs on the Supreme Leader's compound.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump were reportedly shown an image of Khamenei's body after it was recovered from his compound.
His death comes after nearly 37 years as the Islamic Republic's leader - wreaking havoc for the regime, and destabilizing the Gulf in the aftermath.
As well as Khamenei's four family members, two high-level military leaders - Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, and commander of the IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour - were also obliterated in the strikes on Saturday morning.
On Sunday, Iran started its retaliation by attacking 27 US airbases in the Middle East.
In 1964, Khamenei married Khojasteh Bagherzadeh. The couple had six children: four sons, Massoud, Mojtaba, Mostafa and Meysam, and two daughters, Bushra and Hoda, according to the outlet.
Khamenei's body was found under the rubble of his compound following the attacks. He was believed to have lived there with his wife, children and many grandchildren.
On Sunday morning, Trump promised to strike Iran 'with a force that has never been seen before,' after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced they had attacked nearly 30 US military bases across the Middle East.
The targeted attacks on American assets in the destabilized region are part of Iran's self-proclaimed 'most intense offensive operation in history,' in retaliation for the killing of Khamenei.
Black smoke was seen rising from a US airbase at Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq at sunrise, after the IRGC promised their most ferocious counterattack.
Trump, however, hit back in a midnight Truth Social post that read: 'Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!'
Iranian state media officially announced the leader's death early on Sunday. 'To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return,' the news agency said.
An official 40 day mourning period was announced, as well as a seven-day national holiday in wake of Khamenei's death.
During the official announcement on an Iranian state news broadcast, the anchor wore black and stifled tears during the reading of a statement from the National Supreme Council.
'God is great. God is great. With deep sorrow, it is announced to the nation of Iran that Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, was martyred today in a joint criminal attack by the United States and the Zionist regime,' the anchor said in a clip posted on X.
The Council described Khamenei as a revered religious Islamic figure, and said his 'long dream of martyrdom became true.' It was noted that Khamenei was killed during the month of Ramadan.
According to the statement, Iranians were said to be mourning the leader's death but enemies of the country should note that 'martyrdom will spark a massive uprising in the fight against oppressors,' the outlet reported.
Trump had earlier confirmed the Supreme Leader's death in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, adding that 'one of the most evil people in History, is dead.'
'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.
'He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.'
Israel announced in the early hours of Sunday that it had begun a new 'strike wave' targeting Iran's ballistic missiles and aerial defense systems, after Iran launched drones and missiles at Tel Aviv, which were intercepted and shot down.
In response, the IRGC said it was carrying out a 'sixth wave' of 'extensive missile and drone' attacks on 27 US military bases. The extent of the damage is not yet clear.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf declared on state television that Tehran would ‘get even’ in response, vowing severe retaliation.
He said Iran will 'get even with the Americans and Israelis,' saying their leaders had crossed a line.
'Trump and Netanyahu have crossed a red line and will pay the price for it,' he said.
'We will strike you with such painful blows that you will beg for mercy, you will see.'
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called the killing of Ali Khamenei ‘a great crime’ and promised that Iran would respond.
A statement from his office read: 'This great crime will never remain unanswered and will turn a new page in the history of the Islamic world and Shiism.'
'The pure blood of this high-ranking leader will flow like a roaring spring and will eradicate American-Zionist oppression and crime,' it added.
'This time too, with all our strength and determination, with the support of the Islamic nation and the free people of the world, we will make the perpetrators and commanders of this great crime regret it.'
Meanwhile, jubilant protesters inside Iran were seen toppling a statue of the Ayatollah in the early hours of Sunday, in celebration after he was killed by the bombardment.
While it was not immediately clear how much damage was caused by Iran's early-morning attack on American bases, the unfolding violence in the Middle East has wreaked havoc for both civilians and tourists.
A number of sites including tourist-filled hotels in Dubai and Bahrain were hit with collateral damage after Trump's decisive mission to take out the Ayatollah on Saturday morning.
At 11.10am at least three of its drones struck an area near the HQ of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, resulting in a huge plume of black smoke rising above the port.
The site is close to the UK Naval Support Facility, home to dozens of British personnel. There are not believed to have been any British casualties.
Hours later, after nightfall, another Shahed drone slammed into a 37-floor residential tower block in Bahrain.
Extraordinary video footage showed a huge fireball erupting towards the top of the high-rise, with debris scattering and falling onto the surrounding area below.
Meanwhile, 500 miles away in Dubai, home to more than 240,000 Britons, Iranian missiles and drones rained down on luxury hotels and shopping areas.
One projectile landed near the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.
Two people have been confirmed dead in Iranian strikes, including a woman in her 40s who was fatally wounded in Tel Aviv and a foreign worker in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Last night thousands of Britons were stranded across the Middle East as airports shut down amid the escalating conflict.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Saturday that planes were 'in the sky' as part of 'defensive operations to protect out people, our interests and our allies'.
Iranian State news agency IRNA said on Sunday that Iran's president, judiciary chief and a Guardian Council jurist will temporarily be in power to oversee transition following the Supreme Leader's death.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz publicly congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s military following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader in the airstrikes.
'He who acted to destroy Israel - has been destroyed,' Katz wrote in a statement to X.
'Justice has been served, and the axis of evil has suffered a mortal blow,' he added.
Pro-Iran protesters have attempted to storm American embassies in Pakistan and Iraq this morning.
Hundreds attempted to storm Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy is located.
A similar attempt was made in the megacity of Karachi in Pakistan. Both moves were thwarted by officials.
