Iranian President Warns That an Attack on the Supreme Leader Would Be an Act of War

SadaNews - Iranian President Masoud Bezhakian warned on Sunday that any attack on the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, would be considered an act of war. Bezhakian wrote in a post on the X platform, "An attack on the great leader of our country amounts to a full-scale war with the Iranian people," coming a day after U.S. President Donald Trump told Politico that "the time has come to look for new leadership in Iran." In a related context, the Iranian Foreign Ministry described U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks regarding the cancellation of death sentences for 800 protesters as "irresponsible" and "incorrect". Iranian state television quoted the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Ismail Beghai, stating, "The discussions regarding the execution of 800 people in Iran are irresponsible and incorrect, as court decisions take time, and such an important matter cannot be concluded so quickly." In response to a question about the closure of some embassies during the protests in Iran, Beghai stated that "due to internet outages and the anxiety stemming from the events, some diplomats returned to their countries, but no embassy has been closed." He added, "We hope that the diplomats who temporarily left will return as soon as possible, and that embassy operations will return to normal." On Friday, Trump said, "I greatly appreciate the Iranian government’s cancellation of all executions that were scheduled for yesterday (more than 800). Thank you." Last Wednesday, Trump stated that he had received information indicating that executions in Iran had stopped, and that there were currently no plans to carry out any executions or death sentences. He added at that time, "If such a thing happens, it would sadden us all. But according to the information that has reached me, the executions have stopped." Earlier on Sunday, the Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), based in the United States, announced that the number of protesters killed had risen to 3,308, up from 3,090 on Saturday.