Iraqi Leaders Mourn Khamenei as Trump Hails Killing as “Justice”

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Iraqi political and religious leaders on Sunday expressed deep sorrow over the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a large-scale U.S.–Israeli military operation, as U.S. President Donald Trump described the development as “justice for the people of Iran and Great Americans.”

The Coordination Framework, Iraq’s ruling Shiite alliance with varying degrees of ties to Tehran, issued a strongly worded statement mourning what it described as the martyrdom of Khamenei.

“With deep sorrow and profound grief, we mourn the passing of the martyred leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” the alliance said, adding that his “blood will remain a guiding light for all generations” and that “the curse will continue to haunt the murderous Zionists for all time.”

Influential Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also extended condolences, declaring three days of mourning. In a statement, al-Sadr said, “We extend our condolences to the Islamic world,” underscoring the broader religious and political reverberations of the reported killing.

Trump announced Saturday that Khamenei had been killed in recent military operations, crediting close coordination with Israel and advanced U.S. intelligence capabilities. He claimed that Iranian leaders targeted alongside Khamenei were unable to evade tracking systems.

“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead,” Trump said in a statement, framing the operation as a decisive step toward reshaping Iran’s political future. He described the killing as offering “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country” and weaken what he called the regime’s “gang of bloodthirsty thugs.”

The U.S. president urged members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), military, and security forces to seek immunity from U.S. forces rather than continue fighting.

“As I said last night, now they can have immunity, later they only get death!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He further called on IRGC and police elements to “peacefully merge with the Iranian patriots” to assist in rebuilding the country.

Trump indicated that U.S. military operations would continue, including what he described as heavy and “pinpoint bombing,” “uninterrupted throughout the week” or for as long as necessary to secure what he termed “peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world.”

He also asserted that intelligence reports suggested fractures within Iran’s armed forces, claiming that many military and security personnel were seeking avenues to avoid combat and obtain immunity.

The announcement follows coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military and strategic targets on Saturday, marking a sharp escalation in hostilities. Iran has since launched missile and drone attacks against U.S. military bases and allied sites across the Gulf region, intensifying regional instability.

Khamenei, who had led Iran since 1989, was the country’s highest political and religious authority, exercising ultimate oversight over the military, judiciary, and security institutions. His death represent a historic rupture in Iran’s governance structure and a pivotal moment in the decades-long confrontation between Washington and Tehran.