Sadr announces three days of mourning after Khamenei killed

NAJAF — Sadrist Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr issued a condolence message Sunday following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli operation Saturday, according to Iranian state television.

“With deep sorrow and grief, we offer our condolences to the Islamic world on the martyrdom of the leader of the Islamic Revolution, the learned, devout, resisting and striving Sayyid Khamenei, may his pure soul be sanctified,” al-Sadr said. He announced three days of mourning in Iraq.

Khamenei’s death marks a seismic moment in the region’s political landscape. He had led the Islamic Republic since 1989 and was the ultimate authority over Iran’s foreign policy, nuclear program and support for armed groups across the Middle East.

U.S. and Israeli strikes hit multiple sites inside Iran Saturday, including Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, Karaj and Kermanshah. In Iraq, Jurf al-Nasr in Babil was struck twice by unattributed airstrikes, killing two fighters and wounding three.

Projectiles targeting a base near Erbil airport and the U.S. Consulate were intercepted, and debris from one started a residential fire in Erbil’s Minara neighborhood