JAKARTA - Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday threatened Iranian leaders who seek to destroy Israel, adding that it was Israel who had eliminated the dead leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Katz's comments came as Iran held Khamenei's funeral for several days. After being laid to rest for two days at the Grand Mosalla Complex, Tehran, Khamenei's body began its journey through the capital accompanied by a large crowd of mourners.
"Any Iranian leader who attempts to advance plans to destroy Israel will be thwarted," Katz said, CNN reported, according to a spokesman.
"Khamenei, whose funeral is currently underway, was eliminated by Israel because he initiated and led plans to destroy Israel in Iran and throughout the region," Katz said as quoted by Al Arabiya (6/7).
He added that the US-Israeli attack on Iran "removes the immediate existential threat that Israel faces and severely undermines Iran's strategic capabilities."
It is known that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other family members were killed in the attack on February 28, when Israel and the US bombed Iranian targets at the beginning of the war.
The series of funeral ceremonies officially began on Friday last week, with foreign leaders and official delegations from across the region and beyond paying tribute to the late Iranian supreme leader.
According to the official schedule, the public farewell ceremony will be followed by a main funeral procession in Tehran on Monday.
The funeral procession will then move to Qom City on July 7.
On July 8, ceremonies are scheduled in Baghdad, Najaf, and Karbala, Iran, where the remains will be received by religious and political figures before being transferred to major Shiite shrines.
The funeral and final burial ceremony is scheduled for July 9 at the Imam Reza Mausoleum, one of Iran's main Shiite holy sites in the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province, Mashhad.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
