Vladimir Putin speaks of "cynical murder", and China - of "unacceptable blow" on Iran. Russia and China criticize the actions of the US and Israel and the death of Ayatollah Khamenei as violations of international law.
Russian President Putin expressed condolences to his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling it a "cynical murder". According to Putin, this is a "violation of all norms of human morality and international law", the state news agency TASS said in a statement.
Reactions also from China
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned the US and Israeli military strikes against Iran as unacceptable. In a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the Chinese diplomat criticized the fact that the attacks were carried out despite the ongoing negotiations. Xinhua also noted the foreign minister's words that the "blatant assassination" of a sovereign head of state and incitement to regime change are unacceptable. Beijing is demanding an immediate end to military action and a return to dialogue.
Israel says it has destroyed dozens of missile launchers in Iran
At the same time, the Israeli army said it had destroyed dozens of missile launchers since the start of the attacks on Iran. An Israeli military spokesman said that at the start of the last war against Iran in June 2025, Tehran had over 3,000 ballistic missiles. That arsenal had been halved at the time.
“In the meantime, they have replenished it, so now the number is around 2,500 and growing,“ the military spokesman said. According to him, Tehran is seeking to build a significantly larger arsenal. He gave the figure of around 8,000 ballistic missiles. One of the goals of the current operation is to prevent that. Since the beginning of the latest fighting, Iran has fired hundreds of missiles at Israel and other countries in the region.