Khamenei’s Wife Dies After Weekend Airstrikes

Khamenei’s Wife Dies After Weekend Airstrikes

Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, wife of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has died from injuries sustained during recent joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes, according to Iranian state media.

Her death was confirmed on Monday by outlets including Iran’s state broadcaster Channel Two, the Tasnim News Agency and Press TV. The reports said she had been in a coma at a Tehran hospital since the weekend attacks and later “attained martyrdom.”

The strikes, which took place on Saturday, February 28, also claimed the life of her husband, Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iranian state outlets had earlier reported that several other members of the family; including a daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law — were killed in the same attacks.

Bagherzadeh was born in 1947 in Mashhad to Mohammad Esmail Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, a prominent businessman. She married Ali Khamenei in 1964, and the union produced six children four sons and two daughters.

Despite her husband’s decades-long leadership of the Islamic Republic, she largely stayed out of the public eye and was rarely seen at official functions or state events.

Iran has declared a 40-day national mourning period following the deaths of the Supreme Leader and members of his family.

Authorities have yet to release further details about the circumstances surrounding the airstrikes, which have escalated tensions in the region.