Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared publicly Saturday at the mausoleum of Iran's late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran, as separate explosions elsewhere in the country killed at least five people.
Iran's state news agency, IRNA, said the visit came at the start of commemorations for the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the beginning of the "Ten-Day Dawn" events leading up to the anniversary.
IRNA said Khamenei prayed at the shrine and paid tribute to Khomeini and those killed in the revolution.
Khamenei's appearance also came after weeks of nationwide protests in Iran, driven by economic hardship, including high inflation and rising living costs.
U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, known as HRANA, has put the death toll at more than 6,563, while Iranian officials have provided significantly lower figures in public statements.
The number of injured civilians stands at 11,021, and the total arrests stand at 49,070.
The New York Post reported that as many as 35,000 protesters may have been killed.
The Post also reported that Khamenei recently went into hiding in a fortified underground shelter and left day-to-day management to his youngest son.
However, Iran’s leading diplomat in India, Saeid Reza Mosayeb Motlagh, clarified Monday to reporters that although the Supreme Leader is receiving security protection, he is not hiding in a bunker or shelter.
U.S.-Iran tensions have risen alongside the unrest.
President Donald Trump has warned Iran to accept a nuclear deal or face harsher military action, and he has separately deployed an armada of U.S. naval forces toward the region, according to ABC News.
On Saturday, an explosion in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas was preliminarily attributed to a gas leak by a local fire official, killing at least one person and injuring 14.
A separate gas explosion in Ahvaz reportedly killed four people.
Khamenei has appeared less frequently in public in recent years, and the images released Saturday drew attention in part because they came amid heightened external pressure and domestic unrest.
Iran and Israel fought a 12-day war in June 2025 in which Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear sites.
Reuters contributed to this story.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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