As reports said Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, died in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, a report said cheers were spreading across Tehran, the Iranian capital.
On Feb. 28 (local time), according to AFP and DPA, witnesses said cheers were heard across Tehran, and residents came to their windows to clap and play lively music.
The news of Khamenei's death was said to have reached Tehran residents through Iranian dissident outlets operating abroad via satellite.
In videos shared on social media, loud whistling and cheers continued, and fireworks were seen going off. However, AFP said people did not pour into the streets, apparently remembering the harsh crackdown during the anti-government protests on Jan.
The U.S. daily the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, in an article published before reports of Khamenei's death, that a cautious hope was emerging among those opposed to the Iranian regime that a new future might be possible.
That is because, although dissatisfaction is high with the worsening economic crisis and political and social controls, people realized during the anti-government protests early this year—where thousands were killed by a severe crackdown—that as long as the government holds military power, a popular uprising alone cannot bring about regime change.
WSJ said that after explosions boomed across the city during the morning airstrikes, confusion followed as residents rushed to grocery stores to stock up on water and food, lined up at gas stations, and traffic jams formed on the roads.
With the internet largely cut off, communications were virtually severed not only with the outside world but also within Iran—a sign of the turmoil as the government stood at a crossroads of survival.