Hundreds of Iranian civilians are dead, and the Supreme Leader's safety is in question after US and Israeli strikes hit Iran hard on Saturday.
Iran's leadership status after the strikes
Iran's leadership status after the strikes
- Mohammad Fathali confirmed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Masoud Pezeshkian are unharmed.
- Khamenei's standing as a global Shiite religious authority goes way beyond political rank.
- Any harm directed at him would carry consequences that are neither predictable nor controllable.
- Fathali warned that aggressor regimes would bear full responsibility for any such reckless move.
- Iran's Ambassador to India called Saturday's strikes a flat-out violation of national sovereignty.
- Hundreds of innocent Iranian civilians have reportedly been killed in the attacks.
- More than 50 schoolgirls lost their lives at a girls' school in the city of Minab alone.
- Fathali made clear that Iran neither started nor went looking for this war.
- A crushing, region-altering response against Israel is being promised by Tehran.
- Article 51 of the United Nations Charter is the legal basis Iran is leaning on.
- Prior backchannel diplomacy with the US broke down because Washington chose confrontation.
- No backdoor negotiations are currently happening, per the ambassador.
- All US military bases in the region become fair game if Iranian territory keeps getting hit.
- Fathali warned regional countries not to let their airspace or land be used against Iran.
- Tehran insists it has not launched any strikes against neighboring regional countries.
- Preventing further aggression, not expanding the conflict, is the stated Iranian objective.
- No official reports of harm to Indian students or professionals in Iran have surfaced yet.
- Iranian authorities have already pushed out safety advisories for all foreign nationals.
- Full cooperation with the Indian government on any evacuation is something Iran has committed to.