Mansoureh, wife of Late Iranian Leader Khamenei dies days after US–Israel strike

The wife of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, has died days after sustaining injuries in a joint United States–Israel strike on Tehran, Iranian media have reported.

The 79-year-old was reportedly present at Khamenei’s compound in the Iranian capital when the strike was carried out. She was said to have been injured during the attack and later succumbed to her wounds on Monday.

Bagherzadeh was born in Mashhad and was the sister of Hassan Khojaste Bagherzadeh, a former deputy director of Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB.

She married Khamenei in 1964. The couple had six children – four sons, Mostafa, Mojtaba, Masoud and Meysam, and two daughters, Hoda and Boshra.

Her death adds a personal tragedy to an already explosive regional crisis following Khamenei’s reported killing in the strike.

Khamenei’s death has sharply escalated tensions in the Middle East, with Iranian authorities describing the development as a declaration of war.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a televised address on Sunday, vowed a forceful military response.

“Our military will forcefully crush the enemy’s bases,” Pezeshkian said, describing the killing of Khamenei as a “declaration of war against the Muslims.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime,” he added.

Iran has since claimed it targeted multiple US military installations across the Gulf region. It also alleged that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles – a claim rejected by the US Central Command.

Tehran further claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had been targeted, but Israeli authorities dismissed the claim as false.

According to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, at least 555 people have been killed since the outbreak of hostilities, with more than 130 cities reportedly affected.

Meanwhile, the United States and Israel have continued strikes on Iranian missile facilities and naval assets, claiming significant damage to Tehran’s military infrastructure.