MILLIONS of Iranians took to the streets on Sunday to condemn the assassination of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in terrorist American-Israeli aerial assaults.
In the capital Tehran, tens of thousands gathered at the iconic Enqelab Square, carrying pictures and placards of the Leader as well as the national flag.
The mourners chanted slogans, such as ‘Down with the US’ and ‘Down with Israel.’
Earlier in the day, the Iranian government declared 40 days of mourning and seven days of public holidays over the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei.
The government expressed condolences to the Iranian nation over the tragedy, saying the crime will not go unanswered and will ‘mark a new chapter in the Islamic and Shia history.’
On Saturday morning, the United States and the Israeli regime launched a coordinated act of aggression against Iran, targeting dozens of cities in blatant violation of international law.
At least 201 people were killed and 747 others injured in the illegal airstrikes, according to an announcement by the Iranian Red Crescent Society on Saturday evening.
More acts of aggression were committed on Sunday in Tehran and many other provinces.
In response, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has so far launched multiple large-scale waves of retaliatory strikes against military targets across the occupied territories, including Tel Aviv, Haifa and other cities, forcing settlers underground.
They have also targeted American occupation bases in the Persian Gulf region, including Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, the UAE and other countries.
Iran had previously warned these countries not to allow the American aggressor use their territory for any act of aggression against the Iranian nation.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution and many senior Iranian military commanders, including the chief of the defence staff and the IRGC commander, were martyred in Saturday’s aggression.
Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, has vowed that the country will make the Israeli regime and the United States regret their deadly acts of aggression.
‘We will make the Zionist criminals and the vile Americans regret their actions,’ he wrote in the social media post.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf also strongly denounced the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, vowing that the country’s armed forces will deliver such painful retaliatory blows that the enemies will beg for mercy.
‘We will take revenge on the Americans and Israelis. You have crossed our red line. We will strike you with such terrible blows that you will beg for mercy,’ Qalibaf said in a televised speech on Sunday.
Iran’s Army Commander Major General Amir Hatami says the Iranian armed forces are united and determined to counter the US-Israeli aggression, vowing that the enemy ‘will take the dream of enslaving the Iranian nation to the grave.’
General Hatami made the remarks in a televised address on Sunday, noting that Iran’s armed forces – including the army and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) – are fully prepared and united in defending Iran’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests.
‘I assure the Iranian people that their sons in the armed forces have not wavered in carrying out their duties against this despicable enemy and will continue to act firmly with all their strength,’ Hatami said.
He said all army units are operating side by side with the IRGC in both offensive and defensive operations, and that Iranian fighter pilots have conducted strikes against ‘bases of the criminal regime’ in the region.
He also said the army’s combat drones are conducting sustained operations against designated targets, while air defence has successfully intercepted enemy aircraft.
The Iranian Navy, he noted, is actively safeguarding the country’s maritime borders.
Hatami further emphasised that all military operations are being conducted according to previously designed and rehearsed operational plans prepared for various stages of engagement, and that operations will continue until a ‘decisive response’ is delivered.
The army chief warned that Iran’s enemies are attempting to sow division among the population. He urged citizens to maintain unity and vigilance, and said national cohesion was the strongest defence against external threats.
‘Iran is a great nation with deep roots,’ Hatami said. ‘With national solidarity, we can turn threats into opportunities to strengthen our independence.’
He reaffirmed the armed forces’ commitment to standing firm alongside the Iranian people.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that the country will not hesitate to destroy the military bases of the enemies in the region following the US-Israeli attack that assassinated Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
In a televised message released on Sunday, Pezeshkian said that the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei will not dent the resolve of the Iranian military to respond to US and Israeli aggression.
‘The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran are also prepared with strength to take action to pulverise the enemies’ bases, and will continue to be so. They will disappoint the enemies, as they always have,’ he said.
The president said that the US and Israel will gain nothing but ‘shame’ from assassinating Ayatollah Khamenei.
He said that a three-member council tasked with facilitating the transition to Iran’s next leader had begun convening, adding that the body would follow the path of the martyred Leader ‘with strength.’
‘Based on Article 111 of the Constitution, the Provisional Leadership Council has commenced its work and will powerfully continue the path of the late Imam (Khomeini) and the martyred Leader, as well as the path of all truth-seekers in the world,’ Pezeshkian said.
The message came a day after the US and Israel started a new round of aerial aggression on Iran, some eight months after they launched unprovoked attacks on the country.
Both attacks came while Tehran was engaged in diplomatic talks with Washington over its nuclear programme.
Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the Saturday strikes by launching barrages of missiles and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on US bases across the region.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced the largest wave of retaliatory attacks against the Israeli-occupied territories on the second day of the joint US-Israeli war of aggression against the Islamic Republic.
In a brief statement on Sunday, the IRGC said it has launched the seventh and eighth waves of Operation True Promise 4 as it vowed to take revenge for the blood of the martyrs, including IRGC chief commander Major General Mohammad Pakpour.
‘With the grace of God, we will avenge the blood of the martyrs and defend the security, national interests and territorial integrity of the country,’ the statement read.
The Israeli army radio reported that at least 38 missiles had been fired from Iran toward the occupied territories. It described the operation as the largest wave of attacks by Iran so far.
The United States and the Israeli regime launched a surprise act of aggression against Iran early on Saturday as Tehran and Washington were engaged in indirect nuclear talks.
The residence of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was struck in the first salvo of the aggression, leading to his martyrdom and that of several members of his household.
The Iranian armed forces then began pounding strategic sites deep in the occupied territories and Israeli and American interests across the region with ballistic missiles and drones as part of Operation True Promise 4.
Iran’s Army Commander Brigadier General Amir Hatami vowed on Sunday that the counterstrikes will continue until ‘the enemy receives a decisive response and is put in its place.’
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has targeted the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with four ballistic missiles.
In its seventh statement on Operation True Promise 4, which was launched immediately after the latest Israeli-American aggression against the Islamic Republic on Saturday, the IRGC’s public relations office announced on Sunday that the attack was carried out as part of ongoing operations against American and Israeli enemy targets.
According to the statement, the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was targeted by four ballistic missiles successfully.
The IRGC added that the Iranian armed forces have entered a new phase of operations and warned that both land and sea would become a ‘graveyard for the aggressors.’
Further information about the operation would be released later, the statement said.
The aircraft carrier, which has been deployed as part of a massive US military buildup in the region, was targeted on the second day of a joint US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran.
According to Iran’s Red Crescent Society, more than 200 people have been killed in the enemy strikes so far, including more than 100 children, who were killed in an attack on an elementary school in the southern province of Hormozgan.
