Putin breaks silence on Khamenei death

Vladimir Putin has issued a statement after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli strike on Saturday.

The Russian president wrote directly to Iran’s new acting leader, President Masoud Pezeshkian, expressing condolences and accusing Washington and Tel Aviv of carrying out an attack that violated international law and risked destabilising the entire Middle East.

In the message released by the Kremlin, Putin described the killing of Khamenei and several of his family members as an “assassination” committed in “cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law”. He praised Khamenei as “an outstanding statesman” and said he had played a major role in strengthening ties between Moscow and Tehran, calling the relationship a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.