Israel has called on Iranians to rise up and overthrow their leadership following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while Tehran denounced the strike as ‘an open declaration of war against Muslims’ and vowed retaliation.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) formally confirmed that Khamenei was killed in an airstrike in Tehran on Saturday, hours after Israel and the United States launched coordinated military strikes on Iranian targets.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message in Persian on the social media platform X, urging Iranians to seize what he described as a historic opportunity to free themselves from authoritarian rule.
“Israel is working to create the conditions for you to free yourselves from the shackles of tyranny,” Netanyahu said. “This is an opportunity that appears only once in a generation. Do not sit idly by, because your moment will arrive soon.”
He added, “The help you have long awaited has arrived. This is your moment to unite for a historic mission and secure your future.”
Also read: Khamenei killed in Israel-US airstrikes; Iran vows 'revenge'
Netanyahu’s appeal closely mirrored remarks made a day earlier by US President Donald Trump. In a video announcing the launch of military operations, Trump addressed the Iranian public directly, saying, “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations.”
In Tehran, however, the tone was defiant. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the strike that killed Khamenei as a direct act of aggression. Pezeshkian described the attack as ‘an open declaration of war against Muslims’.
He asserted that Iran had both the ‘legitimate right and duty’ to avenge Khamenei’s death and pledged that Tehran would act to fulfil what he called its ‘great responsibility and mission’.
Earlier, Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a close ally of Khamenei, issued a stern warning on X. While acknowledging that previous Iranian missile strikes had inflicted damage, Larijani said future retaliation would be far more severe.
“Today we will hit them with a force that they have never experienced before,” he wrote, threatening unprecedented action against both the United States and Israel.
With rhetoric intensifying on both sides, the exchange of threats has deepened fears of a broader regional conflict in the wake of Khamenei’s killing.
Follow us
