Iran has warned it will take revenge on Donald Trump as the country’s media warns the US President will “pay the price” after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination on Saturday. Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, said the killing of Khamenei signalled “an open war against Muslims, especially Shiites, in all corners of the world”.
He was quoted as saying: “The Islamic Republic of Iran considers bloodshed and revenge against the perpetrators and commanders of this crime as its legitimate duty and right, and will fulfill this great responsibility and duty with all its might.”
Iranian state TV and the state-run IRNA news agency confirmed Khamenei ‘s death early on Sunday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.
An Iranian state TV news presenter is reported to have said while making the announcement: “Trump will pay a price that no American president in history has ever paid. Revenge is on the way.”
The supreme leader’s demise will likely throw Iran’s future into uncertainty and exacerbate already growing concerns of a broader conflict.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin described Khamenei’s killing as “a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law”.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that the “blatant killing of the leader of a sovereign state and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable”, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency.
He said: “These actions violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations.”
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