The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an attack by the United States and Israel has triggered sharp reactions across the world as leaders warn of escalation and regional instability.
Iran said it has launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and US assets in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Oman.
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Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has pledged revenge, saying it has launched attacks on 27 bases in the Middle East where US troops are stationed.
Several countries in the region have closed their airspace during the escalating exchange of attacks.
A Gulf source told Al Jazeera that foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – will hold an emergency meeting by video conference on Sunday to discuss the Iran crisis.
Top diplomats from the European Union’s 27 member states are also holding emergency talks after the United Nations Security Council met late on Saturday.
Here is how several countries, global bodies and prominent groups have responded to Khamenei’s killing:
Iran
President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday described the supreme leader’s killing on Saturday as an “open declaration of war against Muslims”, particularly the Shia.
“This tragic event is the greatest trial facing the Islamic world today,” he said in a message offering condolences.
Israel
Defence Minister Israel Katz congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the military for the strikes that killed Khamenei.
“He who acted to destroy Israel – has been destroyed,” Katz said in a post on X. “Justice has been served, and the axis of evil has suffered a mortal blow.”
He added that Israel would “continue to act with full force”.
United States
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform, warning Iran against retaliating further.
“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever been hit before,” Trump wrote. “They better not do that, however, because if they do, we will hit them with a force that has never been seen before!”
Russia
President Vladimir Putin described Khamenei’s killing as a “cynical murder” that violated “all standards of human morality and international law”.
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family,” said a message to Pezeshkian published on the Kremlin website.
Putin added that in Russia, Khamenei will be “remembered as an outstanding statesman who made a huge personal contribution to the development of friendly Russian-Iranian relations and brought them to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership”.
China
Beijing said it “strongly condemns” the killing.
It described the strike as “a serious violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, a trampling on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations”.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said while calling for the “immediate halting of military operations”.
European Union
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described Khamenei’s death as “a defining moment in Iran’s history”.
“What comes next is uncertain. But there is now an open path to a different Iran, one that its people may have greater freedom to shape,” she said on X.
“I’m in contact with partners, including those in the region that bear the brunt of Iran’s military actions, to find practical steps for de-escalation.”
United Kingdom
Defence Secretary John Healey said protecting British military personnel and civilians from “indiscriminate attacks” by Iran was his priority.
Speaking to the BBC, Healey said “no one will mourn” Khamenei’s death.
Hamas
Hamas said it was mourning Khamenei’s death, describing the strike that killed him as a “heinous” US-Israeli attack.
“He provided all forms of political, diplomatic and military support to our people, our cause, and our resistance,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
The US and Israel “bear full responsibility for this blatant aggression and heinous crime against the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and for its grave repercussions on the security and stability of the region”, it added.
Hamas also said Arab and Muslim countries bear a “political, legal, and historical responsibility to take immediate and decisive action”.
Yemen’s Houthis
The Houthi political leadership extended its “sincere condolences and deepest sympathy” to the Iranian people.
“This heinous crime represents a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms and embodies the continuation of the unjust attack on the Islamic nation,” it said.
North Korea
North Korea condemned the US and Israeli strikes as an “illegal act of aggression”.
The attacks “constitute a thoroughly illegal act of aggression and the most vile form of violation of sovereignty in their nature”, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, according to state media.
