Supreme leader Khamenei's death was confirmed an hour after b0mbing: Iran parliament speaker

Iranian Parliament Speaker and senior negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has revealed new details about how Iranian authorities handled the aftermath of the martyrdom of the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Speaking at a meeting of the Coordination Council of the Iranian Shura Council, Ghalibaf said officials confirmed Khamenei's death about an hour after his residence was struck on February 28.

He said the leadership initially agreed to delay the announcement until dawn and planned to issue a public call for people to gather in the streets in coordination with Ali Larijani.

According to Iran's official news agency IRNA, Ghalibaf said that by the time the heads of the country's three branches of government and Larijani had assembled, it was already around 8pm. They decided to make the announcement the following morning before leaving the meeting.

However, he said the plan had to be changed after international media outlets reported Khamenei's death later that night.

Ghalibaf said he immediately contacted Larijani, and the two agreed to announce the news at dawn and urge people to come out into the streets.

He said the decision was taken to maintain public order, adding that events on the ground could have unfolded differently had they delayed the announcement.

Israel and the United States launched military strikes on Iran on February 28. Khamenei was martyred in one of the attacks the same day.