Large crowds poured into the streets of Tehran and other cities across the country early Sunday morning to celebrate his death, amid fireworks, dancing and cheering. Hours later, scores more tearful mourners came out to the streets to grieve his death, waving Iranian flags and holding photos of Ayatollah Khamenei.

By midday, as fresh waves of airstrikes hit the capital, a strange cadence was playing out across the streets of Tehran: First the booms from the renewed assaults, followed by the sounds of many people cheering on the strikes they hope will bring down the government.

“It’s surreal,” said Azim, a 39-year-old in Karaj, a city west of Tehran. “Imagine your country is being attacked, but because of how disconnected people feel from the government, they react like that.” Like many others interviewed for this article, he gave only his first name out of fear of reprisals by the government.

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Azim said he and his neighbors had been celebrating the death of Ayatollah Khamenei out on the streets until dawn, he said. Later Sunday morning, he drove around the area to take in the scene, passing government checkpoints still manned by Revolutionary Guards soldiers and members of the feared Basij militia, a voluntary subsidiary of the Revolutionary Guards. But even they seemed to be in shock, he said.

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Late Sunday morning, large crowds poured into Engelab Square in Tehran to mourn the leader’s death. Many waved Iranian flags and held pictures of Ayatollah Khamenei, according to photos posted by the Iranian judiciary’s news agency.