China denounces assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Sunday denounced the assassination of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks on Iran's capital a day earlier.

“The attack and killing of Iran’s supreme leader is a grave violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on US social media company X.

“It tramples on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and basic norms in international relations. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns it,” the statement said.

Reiterating the call for an “immediate” end to the military operations in the Middle East, the ministry stressed the need for a “joint effort” to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East and the “world at large.”

Tehran early Sunday announced the death of Khamenei, 86, following US-Israeli bombardment on the Iranian capital on Saturday.

It also declared 40 days of public mourning in the country.

The Iranian Supreme National Security Council said Khamenei was killed at his office early Saturday, and that his death would mark the beginning of a “great uprising against the tyrants of the world.”

Ahead of Tehran’s confirmation, US President Donald Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that Khamenei was “dead.”