Al-Khatib offers his condolences on the death of Khamenei, describing him as a “martyr in confronting the forces of terrorism.”

The Vice President of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, issued a statement expressing his deep sadness over the passing of the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei. The statement said: “We mourn to the Islamic nation the great religious authority and great leader of the nation, the martyr Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei, who spent his life in the service of the true religion, and led the Islamic Republic of Iran and the great Iranian people with all courage and ability, working to achieve the goals of the Iranian Islamic Revolution and the dear Iranian people, in continuation of the line of the Ahl al-Bayt and the approach of Imam Ruhollah Khomeini.”

Al-Khatib added that one of the most important of these goals is “fulfilling the hopes of his people to build a powerful state that relies on its own capabilities, neither Eastern nor Western, with Islamic unity and the support of the oppressed Palestinian people and the peoples of the Islamic nation and the oppressed peoples with all sincerity and determination without fear or fear, and placing the Islamic Iranian state in the ranks of developed countries, and harnessing its capabilities in the service of these goals, and offering himself as a martyr for them in the face of the forces of international infidelity, terrorism, criminality and genocide, led by the American administration.” Led by its president, Donald Trump, and its tool, Israel, are the killers of children and women, the sheds of the blood of innocents, and the bloodsuckers of peoples, who waged this unjust war against the Islamic Republic and have continued, since the establishment of this blessed revolution, to incite strife and wars against it in repeated attempts to overthrow and eliminate it, because these forces cannot tolerate the establishment of an independent state that is not affiliated with it, based on divine and human principles and moral values.

Al-Khatib also stressed: “While we condemn this heinous crime that violates all norms and laws, we share the Iranian people’s pain and grief over this great affliction, and we extend our deepest condolences to the ruler of the era and time, the great authorities, eminent scholars and seminaries, the Iranian leadership, the dear Iranian people, the Islamic world, and the oppressed peoples.”

Al-Khatib concluded by saying: “We have no doubt that this testimony will strengthen the resolve and determination of the Iranian people and their determination to continue the path and emerge from this test with a decisive victory and thwart the enemy’s goals. Those who have wronged will know which way to turn, and the outcome is for the righteous.”

This statement by Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib comes in light of the escalating tensions taking place in the region, following the large military operation that the United States announced that it was carrying out in coordination with Israel inside Iran, and the subsequent Iranian missile responses and threats to escalate the confrontation.

Tehran had officially announced the killing of “Khamenei” in the recent strikes, in addition to declaring general mourning for forty days, while Iranian officials vowed a “stronger and more painful” response, in light of increasing fears of the region sliding into an open regional conflict.

The position of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council in Lebanon reflects the extent of religious and political interaction with the current events, in light of the continued receipt of statements of condolence and denunciation from various figures and bodies in the Islamic world.