Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli strikes was a “declaration of war against Muslims”.
“The assassination of the highest political authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a prominent leader of Shiism worldwide… is perceived as an open declaration of war against Muslims, and particularly against Shiites, everywhere in the world,” Pezeshkian said in a statement carried by state TV.
He added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Earlier, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, vowed to hit the US and Israel with a force never seen before following their strikes, which killed the country’s supreme leader.
