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Iranian Americans celebrated with protests in several US cities on Sunday after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major strike by the United States and Israel.
The 86-year-old Khamenei and dozens of other senior figures were killed in a well-planned major strike by the United States and Israel after months of disagreements, stalled diplomatic relations, and rising tensions over Iran’s missile and nuclear programs. However, Iran has threatened to retaliate in response to the Israeli and US attacks.
Khamenei, who was in power for nearly 37 years from 1989 to 2026, consolidated theocratic power in Iran, ruled with an iron fist, and brutally crushed dissent. Khamenei is believed to have used his power to kill thousands of protesters and arrest thousands more during anti-government protests in Iran last month.
Thousands of people gathered in Westwood, Los Angeles, home to a large Iranian diaspora, on Sunday to celebrate the death of Khamenei, who was born in 1939, Newsweek reported, citing the Los Angeles Times.
Hundreds of people also marched in New York City to celebrate the death of Iran’s supreme leader, according to CBS News. Hundreds of Iranians also gathered in Boston’s Copley Square on Saturday to celebrate Khamenei’s death. Newsweek reported that in Washington, D.C., Iranians gathered on Saturday at Georgetown and the World War I Memorial to celebrate the death of Khamenei, a religious and political hardliner.
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Despite the celebration of Khamenei’s assassination, hundreds of protesters gathered near the White House and other locations in D.C. on Saturday to condemn the strikes on Iran. Some of the demonstrators carried signs reading “No bombs on Iran” and “No New U.S. War in the Middle East,” according to news agencies.
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