A protester waves a photo of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in Tehran in solidarity with the government against Israeli attacks, on June 14, 2025. (Credit: Atta Kenare/AFP)
BEIRUT — In a tribute to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a day after his assassination in Tehran, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Sunday that the party will do its duty in "confronting the aggression," amid fears in Lebanon of being drawn into the regional conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel.
Khamenei's assassination by U.S. and Israeli attacks represents a major escalation in the war that started early on Saturday when the U.S. and Israel launched massive attacks on Iran. The latter retaliated with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases in Gulf countries.
Qassem described the strike by U.S. and Israeli aircraft on the residence of the leader of the Islamic Republic as “the height of crime,” saying Hezbollah “will fulfill its duty.”
He added: “At Hezbollah and within the Islamic resistance in Lebanon, together with all who support this genuine Khomeinist path, we will continue on this way with determination, steadfastness and a spirit of sacrifice, without weakness or exhaustion, refusing humiliation. We will fulfill our duty to confront the aggression, confident in God’s help and support … And whatever the sacrifices, we will not leave the field of honor, resistance and confrontation with American tyranny and Zionist crime to defend our land, dignity and independent choices.”
"In loyalty" to Khamenei and in support of the Islamic Republic, Hezbollah supported held a large public gathering at the Ashoura Square in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday afternoon.
Amid mounting fears that Lebanon could be swept into the regional conflict, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun convened a meeting of the Higher Defense Council at Baabda Palace, attended by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
In a statement issued by the presidency, officials stressed that “the decision of war and peace lies solely with the Lebanese state.”
Other reactions
The Supreme Leader's assassination also drew condemnations in Lebanon, especially by figures close to Hezbollah.
In a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency (NNA), Parliament Speaker and Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri said: "We mourn him to the nation, to all the free people of the world, and to the wise religious authorities in the East and West. We mourn him as an imam, a reference, a guide, and a sincere struggling leader who fulfilled his covenant with God and never wavered."
"In the face of this profound loss, we extend our deepest condolences and felicitations to the friendly Iranian people, to the family of the deceased martyr, to his children, his followers, our great religious authorities and the Iranian leadership," he added.
Grand Jaafari Mufti Ahmad Qabalan addressed the Iranian people of the Islamic Republic of Iran, noting that Khamenei passed away as a "great martyr on the path of his infallible forefathers, honored by the dignity of martyrdom," in a statement relayed by NNA.
He noted that "this is the highest station of honor and the greatest incentive for steadfastness and victory, for rewriting history, and a loyalist force to achieve the nation’s glory in the face of Washington’s and Tel Aviv’s most diabolical schemes.” He stressed that “the leader and the Iranian people hold an endless sovereign debt to Lebanon, its people, and its state."
Moreover, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party strongly condemned the U.S.–Israeli "aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the accompanying deliberate killing of children and civilians."
The party considered this aggression “a fully constituted crime, flagrantly violating Iranian sovereignty and blatantly breaching international law, United Nations resolutions and its charter.”
Later on Sunday, the former Director General of the General Security Abbas Ibrahim extended his deepest condolences to Iran, noting that Khamenei was a "leader who, from the very beginning, understood that standing with the truth is the essence of victory, no matter the cost or the magnitude of challenges."
According to local media outlets, Ibrahim also recalled his only visit to Khamenei, after prayer, as he was bidding him farewell. "I recalled his words that still echo in memory: 'Preserve Lebanon, for it is a gem… and Palestine is a trust upon your shoulders.'"
