Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly called for death sentences to be imposed on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials, according to Iranian news outlets.
The remarks came after the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued arrest warrants last week for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif.
Speaking to the Basij paramilitary force in Tehran, Khamenei stated that arrest warrants were insufficient for the “war crimes” allegedly committed by the “Zionist regime” in Gaza and Lebanon.
l“They issued an arrest warrant; that’s not enough. Netanyahu’s death sentence must be issued. Death sentences must be issued for these criminal leaders,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.
The ICC decision on Thursday claimed that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for actions such as murder, persecution, and the use of starvation as a weapon against civilians in Gaza. Netanyahu dismissed the ICC’s actions as “absurd and false,” while the United States also criticized the court’s move.
The warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif is tied to mass killings during the October 7 attacks on Israel, which ignited the current conflict. Israel has claimed Deif was killed in a July airstrike. The attacks by Hamas left around 1,100 Israelis dead and over 200 others taken hostage. In retaliation, Israeli military actions in Gaza have led to over 44,000 deaths, according to Palestinian health officials.
Hostilities have also escalated in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have killed nearly 3,700 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Clashes with Hezbollah, a group supported by Iran, have intensified, alongside airstrikes exchanged between Israel and Iran in recent months.
