They heard clapping, singing and the phrase “Javid Shah” (“Long live the Shah”, referring to the deposed Iranian monarch) shouted from a high place.
TEHRAN – On March 1, Iranians saw a world they had not wanted for the better part of four decades: a world without the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
The atmosphere in Tehran was a strange combination of silence, fear, hidden joy and official mourning, said shop owner Ali, 42. There was little traffic on the roads, a rarity in congested Tehran, he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme authority of the Iranian regime and guardian of its strict theocratic and social doctrines for 36 years, was killed in a US and Israeli airstrike. His death and the attack plunged Iran into a new era of uncertainty. The process to select his successor has begun. It is not clear when or how the conflict will end.
USA TODAY worked with vetted longtime contributors to report from the streets of the Persian capital, known as one of the most censorious countries in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. People interviewed for this dispatch are being identified only by their first names to protect their safety.
The U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28 began early in the morning, around 8:15 a.m. local time. It was a weekend, and Iranians had just begun their Saturday-to-Thursday work week. The airstrike forced frightened residents into the streets. The parents rushed back to the school where they had just dropped their children off.
“When President Trump said help was on the way, we all felt joy and hope. But as time went on, we became worried that maybe the Islamic Republic was making a deal,” Somae, 25, an architecture student, said in an interview.
As news of the strike kept coming in, students said they tried to go near the windows to listen for “the sounds of explosions and bombs.”
The next day, most stores, including Ali’s, closed. The Israeli Air Force launched new airstrikes across Iran on March 1, and the Iranian military responded with attacks on Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Those who could were trying to stay at home or indoors. I could still hear explosions from time to time. Thick black smoke rose from various parts of the city.
“The world is a better place. We have been waiting for this moment for years,” Reza said. “We hope this is the end of the regime.”
But it’s not that simple.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vow to maintain power after Khamenei
Iran’s interim leadership has so far made clear its intention to stick to this course. President Donald Trump has called on Iranians to rise up against the regime. It is unclear whether they will take part, an Iranian official told Reuters in January, perhaps because they are still scarred by authorities’ brutal crackdown in January, when an estimated 5,000 anti-government protesters were killed by Iranian security forces.
A recent survey in November 2025 found that the regime’s unpopularity was steadily increasing. According to the Iranian Attitude Analysis and Measurement Group, an independent research foundation registered in the Netherlands, the majority of respondents across provinces, rural and urban areas, age groups and genders do not want to live under the theocracy that came to power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Mr. Reza and other Iranians like him, who have long opposed the Iranian government, are equal parts ecstatic and horrified by the new reality they find themselves in after President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that Iran should not be allowed to pursue its nuclear program.
They fear retaliation from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ military, police, and security personnel, which have considerable influence on daily life in Iran. But they also fear disruption. The Iranian capital is filled with smoke and the smell of burning. There are long lines for gas and bread. Bombings continue throughout the country.
At least 201 people have been killed and 747 injured in Iran since the air campaign began, according to the Iranian Red Crescent. A missile attack on a school in southern Iran on February 28 killed at least 153 people, including children, Iranian officials said. USA TODAY could not independently verify these numbers. Three U.S. military personnel were killed in the Pentagon’s operation “Epic Fury.”
Ehsan, a 32-year-old bank worker in Tehran, said his whole body began to tremble with excitement when he first learned of the US and Israeli attack on the Tehran compound where Ayatollah Khamenei worked, lived and ultimately died. He was talking to his parents on the phone, but suddenly the phone and internet were disconnected.
“It was a moment of excitement, fear and hope all at once,” he said.
Iranians witness monument dedicated to Khomeini toppled
In the Iranian town of Ghale Dar, crowds were seen toppling a monument dedicated to the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini.
Hours later, when it became clear that Khamenei had indeed been killed, Ehsan ran to the roof of his building and cried with joy. They heard clapping, singing and the phrase “Javid Shah” (“Long live the Shah”, referring to the deposed Iranian monarch) shouted from a high place. The sounds of celebration echo everywhere.
USA TODAY independently received the video from Tehran and independently verified the images.
“My mother, brother, father and I jumped for joy as if our favorite football team had just scored,” said Somae, a university student. They observed people cheering and shouting from their windows. “Shout for Seyyed Ali!” (Seyyed Ali is Khamenei’s name).
“Some people put speakers in their windows and blasted happy music,” Ethan said. “But we also had a lump in our throats. We were worried it was a lie. We didn’t want to believe it in case it turned out not to be true.”
Pro-government demonstrators take to the streets of Tehran
Ethan may have good reason to be worried.
The day after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran began, most of the street activity in Tehran was dominated by several pro-government rallies and events to mourn the death of the supreme leader. The previous night, hundreds of miles away in the rural town of Ghale Dar in southwest Iran, onlookers cheered as flames erupted from a roundabout and a crowd toppled a monument dedicated to the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini.
But in Tehran, people on the streets were grieving. Some appeared to be crying real tears as they held photos of Khamenei. In an interview, Trump said, atlantic ocean The magazine said it had agreed to dialogue with the Iranians.
Kim Hjelmgaard reported from London.
A freelance writer for USA TODAY reported from Tehran that his name is being withheld for security reasons.
