US Shiite Mosques Honor Slain Iranian Leader Khamenei

Two Shiite mosques in the United States held memorial services on Sunday to honor Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed the previous day in a joint U.S. and Israeli military operation targeting Iranian leadership. The events, one in Dearborn, Michigan, and the other in Manassas, Virginia, drew praise for Khamenei from speakers and attendees while featuring strong condemnations of the American military actions.

The operation, known as Operation Epic Fury, resulted in the deaths of Khamenei and at least 40 other senior Iranian officials, according to U.S. military statements. Iranian officials reported significant civilian casualties, including a strike on a school that they claimed killed up to 168 children, though U.S. Central Command said it was investigating reports of civilian harm without confirming details. The strikes were part of a broader campaign aimed at disrupting Iran's leadership amid ongoing regional tensions.

At the Hadi Institute in Dearborn, a suburb with one of the largest Arab American communities in the country, speakers described Khamenei's death as martyrdom after decades of struggle. Hassan Salamey, a poet and attorney, recited a...