Iran President says avenging Khamenei’s killing ‘legitimate duty and right’

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday (March 1, 2026) that avenging Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing ‘legitimate duty and right’.

Mr. Pezeshkian said that the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S. and Israeli strikes was a “declaration of war against Muslims”.

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“The assassination of the highest political authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a prominent leader of Shiasm worldwide… is perceived as an open declaration of war against Muslims, and particularly against Shias, everywhere in the world,” Mr. Pezeshkian said in a statement carried by state TV.

Mr. Pezeshkian said that avenging the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes was a right and obligation of the Islamic republic.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime,” said Mr. Pezeshkian in a statement carried by state TV.