The killing of Iranian Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei in an assault by the US and Israel has triggered sharp reactions the world over as leaders warn of escalation and regional instability.
Iran stated it has launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and US property in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Oman.
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Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has pledged revenge, saying it has launched assaults on 27 bases within the Center East the place US troops are stationed.
A number of nations within the area have closed their airspace in the course of the escalating trade of assaults.
A Gulf supply informed Al Jazeera that overseas ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – will maintain an emergency assembly by video convention on Sunday to debate the Iran disaster.
High diplomats from the European Union’s 27 member states are additionally holding emergency talks after the United Nations Safety Council met late on Saturday.
Right here is how a number of nations, international our bodies and distinguished teams have responded to Khamenei’s killing:
Iran
President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday described the supreme chief’s killing on Saturday as an “open declaration of conflict in opposition to Muslims”, notably the Shia.
“This tragic occasion is the best trial dealing with the Islamic world at the moment,” he stated in a message providing condolences.
Israel
Defence Minister Israel Katz congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the army for the strikes that killed Khamenei.
“He who acted to destroy Israel – has been destroyed,” Katz stated in a publish on X. “Justice has been served, and the axis of evil has suffered a mortal blow.”
He added that Israel would “proceed to behave with full power”.
United States
“Khamenei, one of the evil folks in Historical past, is lifeless,” President Donald Trump stated on his Fact Social platform, warning Iran in opposition to retaliating additional.
“Iran simply acknowledged that they will hit very exhausting at the moment, tougher than they’ve ever been hit earlier than,” Trump wrote. “They higher not do this, nevertheless, as a result of in the event that they do, we’ll hit them with a power that has by no means been seen earlier than!”
Russia
President Vladimir Putin described Khamenei’s killing as a “cynical homicide” that violated “all requirements of human morality and worldwide regulation”.
“Please settle for my deep condolences in reference to the assassination of the Supreme Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his household,” stated a message to Pezeshkian printed on the Kremlin web site.
Putin added that in Russia, Khamenei can be “remembered as an excellent statesman who made an enormous private contribution to the event of pleasant Russian-Iranian relations and introduced them to the extent of a complete strategic partnership”.
China
Beijing stated it “strongly condemns” the killing.
It described the strike as “a critical violation of Iran’s sovereignty and safety, a trampling on the goals and rules of the UN Constitution and the essential norms of worldwide relations”.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” its Ministry of International Affairs stated whereas calling for the “instant halting of army operations”.
European Union
EU overseas coverage chief Kaja Kallas described Khamenei’s demise as “a defining second in Iran’s historical past”.
“What comes subsequent is unsure. However there may be now an open path to a distinct Iran, one which its folks could have higher freedom to form,” she stated on X.
“I’m involved with companions, together with these within the area that bear the brunt of Iran’s army actions, to seek out sensible steps for de-escalation.”
United Kingdom
Defence Secretary John Healey stated defending British army personnel and civilians from “indiscriminate assaults” by Iran was his precedence.
Talking to the BBC, Healey stated “nobody will mourn” Khamenei’s demise.
Hamas
Hamas stated it was mourning Khamenei’s demise, describing the strike that killed him as a “heinous” US-Israeli assault.
“He supplied all types of political, diplomatic and army help to our folks, our trigger, and our resistance,” the Palestinian group stated in a press release.
The US and Israel “bear full duty for this blatant aggression and heinous crime in opposition to the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and for its grave repercussions on the safety and stability of the area”, it added.
Hamas additionally stated Arab and Muslim nations bear a “political, authorized, and historic duty to take instant and decisive motion”.
Yemen’s Houthis
The Houthi political management prolonged its “honest condolences and deepest sympathy” to the Iranian folks.
“This heinous crime represents a flagrant violation of all worldwide legal guidelines and norms and embodies the continuation of the unjust assault on the Islamic nation,” it stated.
North Korea
North Korea condemned the US and Israeli strikes as an “unlawful act of aggression”.
The assaults “represent a completely unlawful act of aggression and essentially the most vile type of violation of sovereignty of their nature”, a Ministry of International Affairs spokesperson stated, in response to state media.
Pyongyang accused Washington and its ally of “shameless and gangster-like conduct” and of abusing army power to fulfil “egocentric and hegemonic ambitions”.
