New Supreme Leader says killers of Iranian security chief will 'pay'
Israel said on Tuesday that it had killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow aimed at further weakening the Islamic Republic's leadership
The new Iranian Supreme Leader has declared that the "criminal killers" of its security chief will "soon have to pay" in his second statement since coming to power.
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Mojtaba Khamenei, who took over from his father as supreme leader this month, reacted to the killing of Iran's security chief Ali Larijani.
Israel said on Tuesday that it had killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow aimed at further weakening the Islamic Republic's leadership.
Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and General Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force, were "eliminated", Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said.
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Tehran confirmed both killings.
Khamenei said in a written statement: "Undoubtedly, the assassination of such a personality shows the degree of his importance and the hostility of the enemies of Islam toward him.
"Those hostile to Islam should know that the shedding of this blood at the foot of the towering tree of the Islamic system will only make it stronger, and of course every blood has its price, which the criminal killers of these martyrs will soon have to pay."
The commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army has threatened "decisive and regrettable" action in response to Mr Larijani's death.
According to state media, he said "the blood of this exalted martyr and other esteemed martyrs will be avenged."
The statement from the Supreme Leader comes just hours after Mr Katz confirmed the death of Esmaeil Khatib, Iran's intelligence minister.
He was reportedly "eliminated" in a strike overnight.
Mr Katz added that the Israeli military has been authorised to kill any other senior Iranian official being targeted without additional approval.