Streets were eerily quiet elsewhere on Sunday as businesses, schools and universities closed their doors.
Opponents of the regime, who turned out in their thousands to protests that faced a brutal crackdown in January, largely stayed off the streets on Sunday, perhaps following the advice of U.S. President Donald Trump and former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, a figurehead for some opponents of the regime, who urged them to wait and remain protected rather than attempt an uprising now.
“Stay alert and ready to return to the streets for final action at the appropriate time,” Pahlavi said Saturday.
“Do not leave the house. It is very dangerous outside,” Trump advised when announcing the attacks. “When we are done, take over your government.”
While there were no mass celebrations by opponents of the regime, some still welcomed the American and Israeli attacks.
Eyewitness video showed a crowd in southern Iran toppling a monument dedicated to the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei’s predecessor.
In the coastal city of Shahsavar in northern Iran, crowds cheered and cars honked in video verified by NBC News.
“Goodbye, ‘Moosh-Ali,’” the cameraman says, using a nickname that refers to Khamenei.
Even in Tehran, where protesters risk persecution since the violent crackdown on January demonstrations, some shouted “Long live the Shah” from the rooftops, a reference to Iran’s former king who was overthrown in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution.
In footage verified by NBC News, cheers and whistles could be heard in the capital’s Pardis neighborhood after reports of Khamenei’s death began to spread.
But doubts remain about what comes next, prompting quiet anticipation on the streets of Tehran, an NBC News producer on the ground said.
Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said on Sunday that “a temporary leadership council will be formed in accordance with the constitution to carry out the tasks assigned to it” as Iran begins the process to choose a successor to Khamenei.
Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., a strong supporter of the strikes, said Sunday that the United States would not impose a leader on Iran and that it was up to the people to decide what would happen next.
“People will choose. As for people: Choose wisely,” he told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday, adding, “We want to be your friends. We would like to have a good relationship with you in the future, but that’s up to you now.”
