Iranians react with relief and even celebration as smoke rose from regime targets
Videos show some Iranians cheering attacks said to have targeted Khamenei’s palace, as blackout clouds the true toll
As Israel and the United States carried out a large wave of strikes across Iran on Saturday, the full picture in Tehran and other cities remained unclear under a widespread internet blackout, but videos on social media showed some Iranians reacting with relief and even celebration as smoke rose from regime targets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump said the attacks were meant to cripple the Islamic Republic’s military and political leadership. They urged ordinary Iranians to use the moment to overturn their government.
Among the targets hit early Saturday was the Tehran palace of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which was reduced to smouldering rubble, and dozens of other military and regime positions across the country. According to an Israeli official, Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior regime and military commanders were all targeted, though early assessments of damage and casualties were unclear.
Some of the imagery circulating on social platforms appeared to show smoke rising from dozens of locations in Tehran and beyond. Videos showed crowds on highways and in streets as smoke curled above central parts of the city.
Other clips appearing from Iranian urban centres showed people laughing and celebrating. In one, a group on a rooftop could be heard gleefully guessing that Khamenei’s residence had been struck. In another from a high school, a student said, “I love Trump.” In yet another, people danced in the streets, shouting “People in Iran are celebrating the war against mullahs!”
Iran’s state media reported that at least 40 people were killed in a strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran, and dozens more were wounded.
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