The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an\u00a0attack by\u00a0the United States and Israel has triggered sharp reactions across the world as leaders warn of escalation and regional instability.<\/p>\n
Iran said it has launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and US assets in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Oman.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has pledged revenge, saying it has launched attacks on 27 bases in the Middle East where US troops are stationed.<\/p>\n
Several countries in the region have closed their airspace during the escalating exchange of attacks.<\/p>\n
A Gulf source told Al Jazeera that foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) \u2013 comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE \u2013 will hold an emergency meeting by video conference on Sunday to discuss the Iran crisis.<\/p>\n
Top diplomats from the European Union\u2019s 27 member states are also holding emergency talks after the United Nations Security Council met late on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Here is how several countries, global bodies and prominent groups have responded to\u00a0Khamenei\u2019s killing:<\/p>\n
President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday described the supreme leader\u2019s killing on Saturday as an \u201copen declaration of war against Muslims\u201d, particularly the Shia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tragic event is the greatest trial facing the Islamic world today,\u201d he said in a message offering condolences.<\/p>\n
Defence Minister Israel Katz congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the military for the strikes that killed Khamenei.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe who acted to destroy Israel \u2013 has been destroyed,\u201d Katz said in a post on X. \u201cJustice has been served, and the axis of evil has suffered a mortal blow.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that Israel would \u201ccontinue to act with full force\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cKhamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,\u201d US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform, warning Iran against retaliating further.<\/p>\n
\u201cIran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever been hit before,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cThey better not do that, however, because if they do, we will hit them with a force that has never been seen before!\u201d<\/p>\n
President Vladimir Putin described Khamenei\u2019s killing as a \u201ccynical murder\u201d that violated \u201call standards of human morality and international law\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease accept my deep condolences in connection with the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family,\u201d said a message to Pezeshkian published on the Kremlin website.<\/p>\n
Putin added that in Russia, Khamenei will be \u201cremembered as an outstanding statesman who made a huge personal contribution to the development of friendly Russian-Iranian relations and brought them to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership\u201d.<\/p>\n
Beijing said it \u201cstrongly condemns\u201d the killing.<\/p>\n
It described the strike as \u201ca serious violation of Iran\u2019s sovereignty and security, a trampling on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,\u201d the country\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said while calling for the \u201cimmediate halting of military operations\u201d.<\/p>\n
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described Khamenei\u2019s death as \u201ca defining moment in Iran\u2019s history\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat 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,\u201d she said on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in contact with partners, including those in the region that bear the brunt of Iran\u2019s military actions, to find practical steps for de-escalation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defence Secretary John Healey said protecting British military personnel and civilians from \u201cindiscriminate attacks\u201d by Iran was his priority.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the BBC, Healey said \u201cno one will mourn\u201d Khamenei\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Hamas said it was mourning Khamenei\u2019s death, describing the strike that killed him as a \u201cheinous\u201d US-Israeli attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe provided all forms of political, diplomatic and military support to our people, our cause, and our resistance,\u201d the Palestinian group said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The US and Israel \u201cbear full responsibility for this blatant aggression and heinous crime against the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and for its grave repercussions on the security and stability of the region\u201d, it added.<\/p>\n
Hamas also said Arab and Muslim countries bear a \u201cpolitical, legal, and historical responsibility to take immediate and decisive action\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Houthi political leadership extended its \u201csincere condolences and deepest sympathy\u201d to the Iranian people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis heinous crime represents a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms and embodies the continuation of the unjust attack on the Islamic nation,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
North Korea condemned the US and Israeli strikes as an \u201cillegal act of aggression\u201d.<\/p>\n
The attacks \u201cconstitute a thoroughly illegal act of aggression and the most vile form of violation of sovereignty in their nature\u201d, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, according to state media.<\/p>\n
Pyongyang accused Washington and its ally of \u201cshameless and gangster-like conduct\u201d and of abusing military force to fulfil \u201cselfish and hegemonic ambitions\u201d.<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif released a statement saying Islamabad stood with the people of Iran in their moment of \u201cgrief and sorrow\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a post on X, Sharif sent his condolences \u201con the martyrdom of His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei\u201d and expressed concern about the targeting of a state\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n
The leader of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, expressed sympathy for Iran following the attack by Israel and the US.<\/p>\n
Deby, also known as Kaka, said he was sending his \u201cmost sincere and heartfelt condolences\u201d for the killing of Khamenei and that he shared \u201cthe pain of the Iranian nation in the face of this difficult ordeal\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an\u00a0attack by\u00a0the United States and Israel has triggered sharp reactions across the world as leaders warn…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[145,111,144,143,28],"class_list":["post-431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ali-khamenei","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-khamenei","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":433,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions\/433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}