Iranian top officials vowed Sunday to avenge their slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and declared a new wave of strikes on US bases in the Gulf, defying US President Donald Trump’s threat of an unprecedented escalation in force.
As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out, and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s killing a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Ali Larijani, the powerful head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, declared: “The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors.”
In a social media post that adopted Trump’s style and rhetoric, he warned: “YESTERDAY IRAN FIRED MISSILES AT THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL, AND THEY DID HURT. TODAY WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT THEY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.”
