Iranian President Pezeshkian vows revenge after Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli raids (Image source: AP)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has declared that avenging the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the Islamic Republic’s “duty and legitimate right,” following joint US-Israeli strikes that killed the 86-year-old leader.“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers it its duty and legitimate right to take revenge on the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime,” Pezeshkian said in a statement broadcast on state television.He described Khamenei’s killing as a “declaration of war on Muslims.” Pezeshkian described the incident as an assassination of “the highest political authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran and a prominent leader of Shiites around the world,” and said that it was “seen as an open declaration of war against Muslims, especially against Shiites, everywhere in the world.”
Leadership vacuum and escalating tensions
Iranian state television and the IRNA news agency confirmed Khamenei’s death early Sunday. US President Donald Trump had announced hours before his killing, saying that he had given the Iranians their “biggest opportunity” to “reclaim” their country.The killing came after what Trump described as “intensive and targeted bombing” targeting Iranian military and government sites. This is the second time in eight months that Washington has attacked Iran during talks on its nuclear program.
Khamenei, who has ultimate authority over all major state affairs, leaves behind no publicly confirmed successor. His death is widely seen as creating a dangerous leadership vacuum and raising fears of regional instability.
Threats of retaliation
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has warned that it will launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever against Israel and US bases, according to the Associated Press. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf described the American and Israeli leaders as “dirty criminals” who will face “devastating blows.”Unrest ensued throughout the region. In the Pakistani city of Karachi, at least six people were killed when protesters stormed the US consulate. Tens of thousands also demonstrated in Kashmir and denounced the killing of the Iranian Supreme Leader, chanting slogans against the United States and Israel.Hamas mourned the death of Khamenei, and described the raid as a “heinous” American-Israeli attack, according to Agence France-Presse. The Islamic Jihad movement described it as a “war crime” committed in a “treacherous and malicious attack.”Meanwhile, Iran faced a near-total internet blackout for a second day, with NetBlocks saying connectivity fell to just 1 percent of normal levels.As missile exchanges continue and threats escalate, Pezeshkian’s statement indicates that Tehran sees the killing as not just an attack on its leadership, but a turning point that could reshape the conflict across the Middle East.