Iran’s Army chief has vowed that Tehran will never cease its pursuit of vengeance against the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, more than four months after he was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli airstrike.
Making his remarks on Iranian state media, Maj Gen Amir Hatami said Sunday during the second day of public funeral ceremonies for Khamenei and several members of his family, “Those who committed this crime must know that the nation of Iran and all of us will never cease in our pursuit of and demand for justice.
“We will not let go of them, and this is a definitive decision that we will follow through until we achieve results.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28 in an airstrike that targeted his office in Tehran during the opening hours of the Iran war. Iranian authorities say the attack also killed several members of his family, including his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, along with senior military commanders.
Washington-Jerusalem’s decapitation strike triggered a massive Iranian military response, including heavy missile and drone strikes on US military facilities and assets across West Asia, a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as missile strikes against Israel.
Since Khamenei’s death, Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that the country would continue seeking what they describe as a definitive response to his assassination. The late leader remains a central figure for Iran’s political establishment and a spiritual leader for Shia Muslims worldwide.
Khamenei, 86 at the time of his death, led the Islamic Republic for more than three decades after succeeding the founder of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989. Prior to becoming supreme leader, he served two terms as Iran’s president.
Large crowds continue to gather at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla complex for funeral ceremonies and commemorations, with Iranian state media describing the turnout as one of the largest public mourning events in the country’s history.
According to the official funeral schedule, the late supreme leader’s body will be taken from Tehran to the holy city of Qom before travelling through the Iraqi Shia centres of Najaf and Karbala. He is scheduled to be buried on Thursday at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, his birthplace and Iran’s holiest city.
