'Arrest warrant not enough, death sentence needed': Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei on Netanyahu

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that an arrest warrant is not enough for Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu.

Instead of an arrest warrant, a death sentence must be issued for Netanyahu, said Khamenei on Monday in a speech to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) personnel.

Khamenei’s remarks come days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over the Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip. They are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“What the Zionists did is a war crime. They issued an arrest warrant for him [Netanyahu]. This is not enough. Death sentence for Netanyahu must be issued. Death sentence for these criminal leaders must be issued,” said Khamenei in Persian, according to IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.

Iran considers Israel along with the United States to be a fundamental enemy. It is committed to the destruction of Israel and supports a vast network of anti-Israel armed groups across the region which it calls the ‘Axis of Resistance’. These groups include Gaza-based Hamas, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and Yemen-based Houthis, among others, which are at war with Israel at the moment.

In the speech to IRGC’s ‘Basij’ branch, Khamenei said that the IRGC will “finally destroy the Zionist regime in one day”, according to the English translation of his remarks.

Khamenei further said that Israel is not winning the war but is instead strengthening the Iranian-sponsored Axis of Resistance with its actions.

“Bombing people’s homes in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory. Fools should not think that because they bomb people’s homes, hospitals, and people’s gatherings, they have won — no. No one considers this a victory. The enemy has not won in Gaza and Lebanon. The enemy will not win in Gaza and Lebanon…The crimes of the Zionist regime, both in Lebanon, Gaza, and Palestine, are the opposite of what they want, that is, they strengthen and intensify the resistance. This is a general rule. It has no going back,” said Khamenei in Persia.

While Khamenei spoke about arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, he did not comment on the arrest warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.

Last week, along with Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Deif. The ICC said it found reasonable ground to conclude that Deif was responsible for the following crimes during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023: crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture; taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other form of sexual violence.

As for Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC said it found reasonable grounds to believe they bore criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.

The ICC further said it found that hostages taken by Hamas, predominantly women, were subjected to sexual and gender-based violence, including forced penetration, forced nudity, and humiliating and degrading treatment during captivity in Gaza.