LONDON: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli strikes, state media confirmed as another wave of attacks hit the country on Sunday. Below is international reaction to his death:
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER URSULA VON DER LEYEN
“With Khamenei gone, there is renewed hope for the people of Iran. We must ensure that the future is theirs to claim and shape. At the same time, this moment carries a real risk of instability that could push the region into a spiral of violence.”
ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANTONIO TAJANI
“For the moment, Iran is in a transitional phase, and it remains to be seen how long it will last and what impact the war will have. What is certain is that a leader who had guided Iran for decades is gone, and that is bound to have consequences — including the loss of Khamenei’s personal authority over the population.”
EUROPEAN UNION FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF KAJA KALLAS
“The death of Ali Khamenei is a defining moment in Iran’s history. What comes next is uncertain. But there is now an open path to a different Iran, one that its people may have greater freedom to shape.”
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”
BEIJING’S TOP DIPLOMAT WANG YI
The killing was “a serious violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, a trampling on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations”, Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” it added, calling for an “immediate halting of military operations”. China is “highly concerned” that the “situation in the Middle East could be pushed into a dangerous abyss”, Wang told Lavrov, according to Xinhua. “The international community must send a definite and clear message opposing the world’s regression to the law of the jungle,”
SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER MARIA STENERGARD
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been confirmed dead. This could open a window of opportunities. But there are still many uncertainties remaining. “Iran’s future must belong to the people. But the road there is long. The risk of a spiral of violence in the Middle East remains great.”
INDONESIA’S ULEMA MUSLIM CLERICAL COUNCIL
“The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) expressed its deepest condolences for the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, as a result of the Israeli-American attack on February 28. “The United States, which is playing a central role in managing the Palestinian conflict through the BoP (Board of Peace), faces a major question: is this strategy truly aimed at a just peace, or is it actually strengthening an unequal security architecture and burying Palestinian independence? Therefore, the MUI urges the Indonesian government to revoke its membership from the BoP.” — Reuters
