Ayatollah Khamenei vows 'harsh' response to Israeli attacks

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has condemned Israel’s overnight strikes on Iran, warning that the regime has sealed a “bitter and painful” fate for itself.

In a message to the nation delivered early Friday, just hours after Israeli airstrikes targeted locations in Tehran and other cities, Ayatollah Khamenei accused the Israeli regime of committing a grave crime by striking residential areas and assassinating key Iranian military commanders and scientists.

With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 13, 2025

That [Zionist] regime should anticipate a severe punishment .By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 13, 2025

“To the great Iranian nation,” the message began, “the Zionist regime carried out with its evil and bloody hand a crime in our dear country and revealed its wicked nature further by hitting residential areas.”

He vowed that Israel would face a “harsh response” for the attacks.

Khamenei confirmed the deaths of several commanders and nuclear scientists in the strikes, stating that their “successors and colleagues will immediately pick up their work.”

He asserted that this aggression had irreversibly shaped Israel’s future. “With this crime, the Zionist regime sealed for itself a bitter and painful destiny and will definitely see that destiny brought upon it,” he warned.

The strikes, which targeted various sites in and around the Iranian capital, caused widespread damage. State media broadcast images of destroyed residential buildings and reported civilian casualties, including women and children. Eyewitnesses described scenes of devastation, with emergency responders working through the night amid rubble and chaos.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s statement marks a significant escalation in rhetoric, signaling that Iran may respond forcefully to what it views as a direct act of war.