Iran Calls Khamenei's Death an Assassination Without Explaining Who or How

Iran's state news agency IRNA repeatedly referred to Ayatollah Khamenei as the "martyred Leader" throughout his July 9, 2026 funeral, signaling Tehran's official framing of his death as assassination. Yet Iranian authorities have released no public account identifying who carried out the killing or how it happened. The months-long delay between death and burial adds another layer of opacity to the succession.