A bird flies past a banner bearing the image of Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, in Tehran on Sunday. [Reuters]
A bird flies past a banner bearing the image of Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, in Tehran on Sunday. [Reuters]

Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said Sunday that the leaders of the United States and Israel, who waged war against his country, must be punished.

In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) that day, Khamenei said all acts committed against the Iranian people — from physical and psychological harm inflicted through the "imposed war" to the killing of children in Minab and Lamerd, war crimes, and attacks on medical facilities — "are legal matters that must be addressed in domestic and international courts." He added that "what is certain is that these criminals must be arrested and held accountable for their criminal acts."

Khamenei also referenced the death of his father, then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war, Feb. 28, saying the "martyrdom of the mujahid leader" was "one of thousands of major legal cases that must be taken seriously."

Khamenei said the relevant authorities had been tasked with continuously pursuing the matter until investigations and rulings were issued on crimes committed during the imposed war, adding that doing so "will help prevent the recurrence of such crimes."

The remarks are widely seen as a domestic message aimed at consolidating public opinion at a time when the United States and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding on an end-of-war framework and are continuing negotiations.

Iran is scheduled to hold a six-day state funeral for Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad from June 4 to June 9 — 126 days after his death.


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