Iran’s Khamenei says Netanyahu must face death penalty, ICC warrant 'not enough'
In his first comment on the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav Gallant, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a death sentence must be issued for the Israeli leaders, not arrest warrants.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday the arrest warrant recently issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not enough, and he must face the death penalty instead.
Khamenei’s comments, the first since the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last Thursday for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, came during a meeting in Tehran with members of the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary group that operates under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“They issued an arrest warrant. That's not enough. … [A] death sentence must be issued for these criminal leaders,” Khamenei said.
The Iranian leader condemned the Israeli wars on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon as war crimes and said that Israel’s actions in the region have further strengthened the “resistance.”
