BEIRUT: Thousands of Hezbollah supporters gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mourn Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday, chanting “death to America, death to Israel” while crying over the killed figure.
“God is one, and Khamenei is the leader,” they chanted in unison, wearing black and waving Hezbollah and Iranian flags.
Khamenei was killed when the United States and Israel began launching waves of strikes against Iran on Saturday, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to continue striking Iran “as long as necessary,” while repeatedly urging Iranians to rise up and overthrow their government.
In a statement on Sunday, Iran-backed Hezbollah’s chief, Naim Qassem, said the assassination of Khamenei and other Iranian officials was “the height of crime.”
“We will undertake our duty of confronting the aggression,” Qassem said, adding that his movement would not leave “the field of honor and resistance.”
In Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah holds sway, mourners lifted up pictures of the killed Iranian leader.
“His death is very painful, it is a tragedy,” said Zainab Al-Moussawi, a 23-year-old teacher.
“It felt just like the martyrdom of the Sayyed,” she added, referring to Israel’s killing of Hassan Nasrallah, then the leader of Hezbollah, in 2024.
Sitting in the front row, mourner Hassan Jaber said: “I ask Sheikh Naim (Qassem) to go to war.”
Hezbollah has so far not taken action since the US and Israel began striking Iran on Saturday.
It called on mosques to recite the Quran and organize mourning ceremonies to mark the death of Khamenei, both in the Beirut suburbs and other areas of Lebanon where the group wields influence.
However, in politically-divided Lebanon, Khamenei was not supported by everyone.
“He was always threatening... Arab countries, and had proxies everywhere,” said Hassan Harouq, a 44-year-old nurse in Beirut, who told AFP he just wants the country to be “stable, and for it to make peace with the region.”
“It is time for Lebanon to be on the right path again... and be the Switzerland of the East. The Lebanese people are tired.”
Lebanese authorities fear that Hezbollah might intervene to support Iran in this conflict.
The country is still struggling to recover from a year-long war between Hezbollah and Israel that ended with a November 2024 ceasefire, although Israel continues to strike targets it says are linked to Hezbollah.
President Joseph Aoun, following an emergency meeting of the country’s Higher Defense Council, said on Sunday that “the decision of war and peace rests solely with the Lebanese state.”
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday rejected the prospect of Hezbollah “dragging” the country into war.
Hezbollah supporters mourn Khamenei in Lebanon mass rally
https://arab.news/p7gwt
Hezbollah supporters mourn Khamenei in Lebanon mass rally
- Hezbollah’s chief, Naim Qassem, said the assassination of Khamenei and other Iranian officials was ‘the height of crime’
- The Tehran-backed group has so far not taken action since the US and Israel began striking Iran on Saturday
UAE closes embassy in Tehran, withdraws ambassador
- UAE foreign ministry said Iranian strikes represented serious and irresponsible escalation
DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates closed its embassy in Tehran on Sunday and has withdrawn its ambassador and all diplomatic staff from Iran following Iranian missile strikes targeting the Gulf country.
In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision came in response to what it described as “blatant Iranian missile attacks” on Emirati territory.
The ministry said the strikes targeted civilian sites, including residential areas, airports, ports and service facilities, and represented a serious and irresponsible escalation.
“These hostile attacks constitute a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and a clear breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” the statement said.
The ministry added that the move reflects the UAE’s “firm and unwavering stance against any aggression” that threatens its security and sovereignty. It accused Iran of continued hostile and provocative conduct that undermines de-escalation efforts and pushes the region toward a dangerous trajectory, threatening regional and international peace, energy security and global economic stability.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi have faced hundreds of missile and drone attacks since Saturday, as Tehran retaliates against US-Israeli airstrikes.
While the majority of the projectiles have reportedly been intercepted, there have been reports of casualties and damage in several areas of both cities.
