Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian called the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei an "open declaration of war" against Iran, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported, quoted by BTA.
Pezeshkian stressed that Khamenei's assassination was an act against all Muslims, but especially against Shiites.
"Iran considers it its duty and legal right to take retaliatory strikes and avenge the perpetrators and organizers of this crime," Pezeshkian added. He called Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a "martyr" whose steadfastness will be remembered and immortalized in history books.
Khamenei was killed in yesterday's Israeli and American air strikes in Iran, which also hit the supreme leader's residence in central Tehran.