Ayatollah Khamenei’s wife dies after injuries in US-Israel strike

Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the wife of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the wife of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has succumbed to her injuries after being targeted by a US-Israeli strike, says Iranian state media.

Bagherzadeh, 79, had been in a coma since strikes on Saturday killed Khamenei, the Tasnim news agency said. She was Mojtaba Khamenei’s mother.

Khamenei himself was killed in the strikes by the US and Israel on Saturday.

She mostly stayed out of the public eye. The couple married in 1964. While little is known about her, they had six children together.

Her father, Mohammad Esmaeil Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, was a prominent businessman based in Mashhad. Her brother, Hassan Khojasteh, earlier served as deputy director of Iran’s state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, according to Iran International.

After the death of Ali Khamenei, Iran announced 40 days of national mourning. The mourning period has also seen protests and vigils reported in several countries, including India.

Since Saturday, Israel and the United States have carried out strikes on multiple targets across Iran. The conflict, which began with Khamenei’s killing, has widened across the region, with explosions reported in Dubai, Bahrain, Iraq and other parts of West Asia.

Tehran has said its retaliatory attacks are focused on US military targets in the region.