'Most incredible news': Sacred Games famed Iranian actress Elnaaz Norouzi celebrates Khamenei's death

Norouzi, who is widely known for her role in the Netflix series Sacred Games, expressed her reaction in an Instagram post.

She wrote as quoted by Hindustan Times, “This is the most incredible news for us. The news we've been waiting for for 47 years has arrived. Khamenei is dead. God is greatest.”

The 33-year-old actress was born in Tehran and later moved to Germany before pursuing her acting career internationally, including projects in India.

In 2022, Norouzi had publicly joined the anti-hijab protests by posting a video of herself removing layers of clothing, including her hijab, on Instagram, asserting her right to choose her attire.

The protests had swept across Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, who died in Tehran on September 16, 2022, after being detained by the country’s morality police over alleged violations of dress code rules.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader since 1989, was killed in his office early Saturday during coordinated air strikes carried out by United States and Israeli forces, according to Iranian state media and US officials.

US President Donald Trump confirmed that American forces had targeted and killed the 86-year-old cleric, calling him “one of the most evil people in history” and urging Iranians to “take back their country.”

The strikes were described by US and Israeli officials as part of a broader military campaign aimed at dismantling Iran’s ruling establishment and weakening its military and nuclear command structure.

Khamenei, who succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, had been Iran’s most powerful political and religious authority for over three decades, shaping the country’s domestic and foreign policies.

His reported killing marks a dramatic escalation in hostilities and has plunged the Middle East into deep uncertainty, raising fears of wider regional conflict and political instability.