Senior cleric urges Pope to denounce US 'war crimes', reject any Christian justification for them
Head of the Iranian Islamic seminaries, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, warns that the “intentional” assassination of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the highest religious authority with nearly two billion Muslim followers across the world, will open a new "chapter of audacity" for bullying powers.
In a letter to Head of the Catholic Church Pope Leo XIV on Friday, Arafi said Ayatollah Khamenei’s assassination was not only a “simple war crime”.
He added that the move was an unprecedented crime in the history of religions and a blatant insult to all followers of divine religions which will embolden every bullying power to consider the life of a spiritual leader a legitimate target.
He emphasized that threats posed to Ayatollah Khamenei over the past decades were absolutely rooted in his unwavering and courageous defense for the oppressed people of Palestine and brave resistance of people in the Gaza Strip against the Israeli regime’s genocide and occupation.
The US and Israel started a fresh round of unlawful military aggression on Iran on February 28, some eight months after they carried out unprovoked attacks on the country. The attacks led to the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei and hundreds of Iranian civilians, including women and children, as well as senior military commanders.
Photos show the remnants of an American missile that struck an elementary school in Minab, resulting in the tragic martyrdom of over 170 students.
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Arafi further pointed to "tragic and unforgettable" US-Israeli attack on an Iranian elementary school in the city of Minab, saying their brutality shattered conscience of humanity.
“In this heinous crime nearly 170 innocent students aged 8-12 were slaughtered,” the top cleric said.
He noted that the Pope, as the head of the Catholic Church, has always promoted dialogue among religions and global peace and defended the oppressed people.
Arafi called on the Pope to strongly condemn such heinous crimes which are amount to “war crime”, “a crime against humanity” and “insult to religious leaders” and reject any link between such criminal acts with the Christian teachings.
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