Khamenei: Netanyahu Must be Sentenced to Death

TEHRAN: Days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and others for war crimes, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei demanded the death sentence for the Israeli Prime Minister.

"They issued an arrest warrant, that's not enough... Death sentences must be issued for these criminal leaders", Khamenei told a gathering of paramilitary Baseej force in Tehran.

Iran leaders remarks come days after the 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.

The ICC judges determined there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore criminal responsibility for actions including murder, persecution and using starvation as a weapon of war.

"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 Tasnim news agency.

Iran considers Israel along with the United States to be a fundamental enemy. It is committed to the lliberation of Palestine 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 and Jihad, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and Yemen-based Ansarralah (Houthis), among others, which are at war with Israel at the moment.