Sky Host Delivers Fiery Farewell to Khamenei
Rita Panahi didn’t hold back. She said what a lot of people were thinking, live on air.
Panahi was born in Iran and fled to Australia as a refugee in the mid-80s. That history shapes her view. It also made her reaction sharp and personal.
Reports say Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei was killed in a joint military operation conducted by Israel and the United States this weekend. The strikes, described as ‘Operation Epic Fury,’ reportedly eliminated at least 40 other senior regime figures. Iranians around the world celebrated the news.
President Donald Trump encouraged the Iranian people to take back their country.
On Saturday, after it was confirmed that Khamenei was killed in the strikes, conservative Sky News Australia anchor Rita Panahi delivered a thundering farewell message to the deceased Supreme Leader.
“This will be the shortest editorial I’ll ever deliver,” Panahi said.
“All I have to say is that after 47 years of Islamist tyranny, the dictator is dead, and Iran is on the verge of being liberated. I never thought I would see this day in my lifetime,” she said.
Then she didn’t mince words. “A message to the late Supreme Leader: You son of a b*tch, shame on you! Burn in hell!” Panahi said.
The exchange on air was blunt. Her co-anchors chimed in, “Well, I don’t have anything to add to that!”
It’s a raw moment. A broadcaster who escaped Iran used her platform to call out decades of repression. That kind of frankness lands differently depending on who you are. For many exiled Iranians and opponents of the regime, it felt like vindication. For others, it was shocking and provocative.
Either way, the scene captures how charged the moment is. A regime’s leader reportedly gone. A country on edge. Voices from the diaspora speaking up. And in the middle of it, a TV anchor who made no attempt to be polite.
Expect more strong reactions. This story is moving fast and emotions are high.