Iranians have been seen taking to the streets to react to the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in video clips that began to emerge after the attack on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump said on social media that Iran’s ruler had been killed during the surprise wave of US-Israel strikes.
The death of the 86-year-old was later confirmed by Iranian state media, though it did not specify the cause.
Announcing the death, Mr Trump called the killing the “single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country”.
But whether the decapitation of Iran‘s top level of leadership would lead to regime change depends on whether people are willing to fight for it, Sky’s international correspondent John Sparks said.
“The clerics and their supporters will hold on until the bitter end,” he added.
In the meantime, the deep-rooted divisions in Iranian society were on full display throughout Saturday as emotions soared.
Some clips appeared to show people celebrating in the streets, cheering and honking horns. “I love Trump,” says a man in one video.
Their long-simmering resentment of the regime will only have been intensified by the brutal killing of thousands of fellow dissenters seven weeks ago.
A group of demonstrators wave Iranian flags in support of the government in Tehran. Pic AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
A woman holds a picture of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a demonstration in support of the government. Pic: AP
Sparks said: “Many civilians are so alienated and angry with their rulers, that you can see them celebrating this military operation.”
But the US is unlikely to have won much support from the families of dozens of children killed in a strike on a girls’ school.
And those already decidedly loyal to the regime also went out into the streets, apparently pictured praying for themselves, their leaders and the regime.
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Various surveys suggest about 70-80% of Iranians back a regime change.
But the rulers also have a fiercely loyal base.
Photos showed these pro-government supporters out waving flags and carrying photos of Ali Khamenei on Saturday afternoon.
