ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said Sunday that the United States and Israel have “set the heart of the Iranian nation ablaze,” after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, vowing that Tehran will strike its enemies “with a force never seen before.” 

“America and the Zionist regime [Israel] have set the heart of the Iranian nation ablaze. We will burn their hearts,” Larijani said, referring to the airstrikes by the US and Israel that killed Khamenei on Saturday.

The strikes on Saturday also killed a number of top brass Iranian military leaders, including top Khamenei aide Ali Shamkhani, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces Abdolrahim Mousavi, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Mohammad Pakpour.

“YESTERDAY IRAN FIRED MISSILES AT THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL, AND THEY DID HURT. TODAY WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT THEY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE,” Larijani asserted.

On Sunday, Larijani announced that a three-member council will be formed to temporarily assume leadership of the country. The council includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and prominent high-ranking Shiite cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi. 

Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), has been mentioned as a possible successor to Khamenei by Iranian media, citing his deep institutional ties as a former parliament speaker and IRGC commander who also has clerical roots. 

In a message to regional countries, the top security chief said that despite not wanting to attack them, Tehran will continue its offensive on US bases in their territories, claiming, “for these bases are not part of the land of those countries; rather, they are American soil.”

In retaliation, Iran has sent salvos across the region, targeting US assets. The attacks are ongoing from both sides, as of the time of writing this report.

The US and Israel on Saturday morning launched a large-scale military offensive across Iran, following months of escalating tensions between the two sides. The attacks targeted many of Iran’s political and military leaders, including Khamenei’s residence.

Iran has declared 40 days of mourning for the late leader.

Khamenei, 86, from Mashhad, was Iran’s highest political and religious authority for nearly 37 years, marking the longest-serving leader since the Islamic Revolution.

He was a leading opponent of the US and Israel, advancing the Islamic Republic’s ideology by supporting regional proxies against both countries, and calling for their elimination.