For journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, a Saturday afternoon in Manhattan became a moment of long-awaited liberation as she celebrated reports of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death, reports dailycaller.com.
The news broke following a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump, who confirmed the leader’s passing hours after launching “Operation Epic Fury” early Saturday morning.
The reaction from Alinejad was one of raw kinetic energy. In a video shared to X, the activist, who has lived under constant U.S. federal protection, expressed a desperate need to run and shout with joy after a lifetime of waking up to news of her compatriots being killed by the regime.
Her celebration on the sidewalk was punctuated by emotional embraces from strangers, marking a visceral release of years of personal and political tension.
This moment of triumph carries significant weight given the Iranian government’s history of targeting Alinejad on American soil.
Just over three years ago, three men were indicted for a plot to assassinate her, a terrifying sequel to a 2021 Department of Justice charge involving an Iranian intelligence network’s attempt to kidnap her from her Brooklyn home.
While the situation remained fluid, CBS News anchor Major Garrett provided Alinejad with further context during an interview, relaying remarks from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Although Netanyahu stopped short of an official confirmation, his statement that the Supreme Leader was “no longer” served to further fuel the atmosphere of historic change that Alinejad and her supporters were witnessing in real-time.
