A woman who drew attention in January for lighting a cigarette with a burning photograph of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reappeared online, this time reacting to reports of his death.
Using the pseudonym Morticia Addams on X, she shared a new video showing herself walking among a large crowd that appeared to be celebrating Khamenei’s reported killing in recent US-Israeli strikes. In the clip, she is heard singing as people around her cheer. Posting the video, she wrote that she had promised they would “dance on your grave.” The post included the hashtag #KingRezaPahlavi, referencing the son of Iran’s last shah, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Her post followed Iranian state media confirmation that Khamenei had been killed in coordinated US and Israeli strikes. The news prompted mixed reactions within Iran, with reports of celebrations in cities such as Tehran, Karaj and Isfahan, while others voiced concern about the risk of further violence.
In January, Morticia Addams became widely known after a video showed her setting fire to a printed image of Khamenei and using it to light a cigarette, an act many protesters viewed as symbolic resistance to Iran’s clerical establishment.
A later Reuters fact-check reported that the cigarette-lighting video was recorded in Canada, not Iran, despite claims circulating online. According to the report, the footage was filmed outside a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce branch in Ontario. The woman later said she had spent most of her life in Iran but was living in exile in Canada, with family still residing in Iran.
The imagery became associated with the broader “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest movement and subsequent demonstrations over economic and political grievances. In Iran, burning images of the Supreme Leader is considered a serious offence, and women smoking publicly can face social restrictions, making such acts particularly controversial.
Similar acts of defiance, including women burning headscarves and cutting their hair, have spread widely since the 2022 protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini while in morality police custody.
Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East have intensified after a sharp escalation involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Explosions were reported in Tehran as Israel said it was striking key targets in the capital. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and several Gulf countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. While many projectiles were intercepted, the attacks resulted in casualties, injuries and damage, disrupted flights and raised concerns about security in the Strait of Hormuz.
With Khamenei’s death, Iranian authorities have set up an interim governing council while the process to appoint a new Supreme Leader begins, adding further uncertainty to the country’s political future.
