'Bitter And Painful Fate': Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei Warns Israel Over 'Targeted Strikes'
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"With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it," Khamenei said in a statement.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that Israel would suffer severe consequences after the latter launched 'targeted strikes" on the Islamic republic on Friday, including Tehran and nuclear sites.
In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, Khamenei vowed 'harsh punishment" for Israel after the airstrikes killed several Iranian commanders and scientists.
'The Zionist regime at dawn today extended its vile and bloody hand to commit a crime in our dear country and revealed its evil nature more than ever by striking residential centers," Khamenei said in a statement.
'With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it," he added.
Khamenei confirmed that 'several commanders and scientists were martyred" in the attacks, saying their successors would 'immediately continue their duties."
Additionally, Iran's Revolutionary Guards vowed revenge after the killing of its chief. The attacks 'will not remain unanswered and (Israel) must await harsh and regrettable revenge", said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a statement read on state TV.
The statement followed Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military sites in an operation called 'Lion's Power."
'We are at a decisive moment in Israel's history," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded video message.
Israel targeted Iranian scientists working on a nuclear bomb, its ballistic missile programme and its Nantanz uranium enrichment facility, in an operation that would continue for days, he said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami, Army chief Mohammad Bagheri and several top nuclear scientists have been killed in the Israeli strikes.
In response, Tehran has declared a nationwide state of emergency, according to state-run media outlets. Emergency services have been mobilised, and the Iranian military has reportedly been placed on high alert. The targeted killing of top military and nuclear figures has further inflamed an already volatile scenario.
(With inputs from agencies)
First Published:
June 13, 2025, 08:59 IST
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