Jerusalem, March 1 Israel called on Iranians to take to the streets and overthrow the government, as Iran vowed revenge for the killing of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling it "an open declaration of war against Muslims."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) formally announced that it killed Khamenei in an airstrike in Tehran on Saturday, hours after Israel and the US launched joint strikes on Iran earlier in the day.
On Sunday, in a Persian-language video posted on the social media platform X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is working to create the conditions for the Iranian people to "free themselves from the shackles of tyranny."
"This is an opportunity that appears only once in a generation. Do not sit idly by, because your moment will arrive soon," Netanyahu said.
"The help you have long awaited has arrived. This is your moment to unite for a historic mission and secure your future," he urged.
Netanyahu's statement echoed US President Donald Trump's announcement on Saturday. In a video announcing the launch of the combat operations, Trump told Iranians that "when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations."
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, on the other hand, declared the Israeli strike in which Khamenei was killed on Saturday as "an open declaration of war against Muslims."
Sky News quoted the Iranian president as saying in a statement that it is Tehran's "legitimate right and duty" to seek revenge against those responsible for Khamenei's death, adding that it will work toward fulfilling "this great responsibility and mission."
Earlier, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, a close confidant of Khamenei, threatened in a post on X to hit the US and Israel with unprecedented force.
While the missiles fired by Iran "did hurt," Larijani said, "today we will hit them with a force that they have never experienced before," Larijani stressed.
