By Feliz Solomon, Hamraz Bayan and Henna Moussavi
The death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei brought a sense of disbelief to a nation divided over his legacy, as loyal supporters gathered in mourning and opponents celebrated his demise.
Dressed mainly in black, the Ayatollah's devoted followers poured into mosques and public squares in major cities on Sunday to mark the start of a 40-day mourning period. Elsewhere, crowds of his critics lined the streets to sing and dance.
Khamenei, 86 years old at the time of his death, led Iran through decades of transformation. To his critics, he was a ruthless autocrat who steered the nation on a path of societal and economic isolation. But many in the country of some 90 million people remember him as an icon of Iran's 1979 revolution -- when its monarchy was overthrown and supplanted by the Islamic Republic -- and as one of the foremost spiritual leaders of Shiite Muslims worldwide.
"Khamenei was a polarizing figure, seen as a hero of resistance by some and a repressor of freedoms by others, so his death was bound to evoke mourning and celebration alike," said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran project at the International Crisis Group.
Khamenei was killed in a flurry of predawn strikes carried out by the U.S. and Israel on Saturday. Iran's state-controlled television channel confirmed his death the next morning, and broadcast videos throughout the day of mourners in major cities such as Tehran and Isfahan. They wailed and sang as they beat their chests with their hands, a common mourning ritual in Iran.
Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency said official memorial ceremonies would be held at more than a dozen locations throughout the capital after evening prayers.
Strikes continued to pummel targets in Iran on Sunday, at times stirring up the already emotional crowds.
"This army has come out of love for the leader!" Khamenei supporters shouted in the capital after hearing the sound of an explosion, according to Iran's official state broadcaster, IRIB. In another video from Golestan, northern Iran, mourners were seen shouting, "Khamenei is the leader, God is Great!"
To many Shiite Muslims, not only in Iran, Khamenei held an almost pope-like status. He was chosen by a council of elders to convey the word of God and usher in a global revival of Islamic tradition. Images of him in his austere wardrobe -- a turban, clerical robes and a long, graying beard -- appeared in offices, on billboards and murals throughout the country.
One elderly man in Tehran said thinking about Khamenei being gone felt strange.
Elsewhere in the same cities where followers mourned his loss, very different scenes took place. As news of his death spread, many Iranians poured onto the streets in a state of shock and disbelief. Fireworks burst overhead in some areas, and people sang from their balconies. In Tehran, euphoric opponents of the regime cheered and whistled as honking cars passed by.
One resident of the city told The Wall Street Journal that it felt like a strange holiday. People in the neighborhood were even handing out sweets, he said.
A man in Karaj, a large city northwest of Tehran, said authorities fired gunshots to break up a celebration over Khamenei's death. Still, he said, people now see a glimmer of hope and feel invigorated.
The Iran-focused human-rights group Hengaw said authorities fired gunshots to break up celebrations in other cities, but it hasn't confirmed whether anyone was killed.
The torrent of strikes -- in which Israel says 40 Iranian commanders were killed in the first minute alone -- has also drawn polarized reactions abroad, according to videos verified by Storyful, an open-source intelligence company owned by News Corp, the Journal's parent company.
Footage showed people dancing in the streets of the U.S. capital, some waving Iran's former "Lion and Sun" flag that has become a symbol of the opposition. In Karachi, Pakistan, other clips showed anti-U. S. rioters storming the American consulate, smashing windows and clashing with police, leaving at least nine people dead.
In Iraq, protesters surged into Baghdad's Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy is located, before they were dispersed amid thick clouds of smoke and what appeared to be water cannons.
Write to Feliz Solomon at feliz.solomon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 01, 2026 15:32 ET (20:32 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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