Iran’s supreme leader has called for the execution of Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared on Monday that “an arrest warrant for Netanyahu is not enough – he should be sentenced to execution” over alleged war crimes.
Addressing a group of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps generals and Basij militia forces in Tehran, he said: “This is a war crime – the enemy has not achieved victory in Gaza or Lebanon. Bombing civilians’ homes in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory.”
Attendees at the gathering chanted: “Death to America”, “Death to Israel” and “Death to England”.
Khamenei said: “The fools should not think that just because they bomb people’s homes, hospitals, and communities, they have won. No, nobody considers this a victory.”
On Thursday, the ICC accused Mr Netanyahu, along with Yoav Gallant, his former defence minister, and Mohammed Deif, a Hamas commander, of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the Israel-Gaza conflict.