Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences over the death of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli strikes as a "cynical violation" of morality and law - once again underscoring which side of the divide he is on. While Russia's relationship with the US has been thorny since the war with Ukraine, Iran remains one of Moscow's closest partners and has supported Russia's war effort in Ukraine by supplying drones and missiles.
In a letter to his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian published by the Kremlin, Putin expressed "deepest condolences for the assassination of" Khamenei today, saying the killing was "carried out in a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law".
Khamenei was killed in the US-Israel airstrikes on Saturday. His death was confirmed by Iran's state media early this morning by anchors who struggled to maintain composure.
The Times of Israel quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Khamenei's body had been recovered. Israel's Channel 12 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was shown an image of the body after it was retrieved.
Moscow's Early Reaction
Following Saturday's US-Israeli strikes on Iran as "a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state," Russia, in their first reaction, had demanded an immediate halt to the military campaign and called for a return to diplomacy.
The Russian Foreign Ministry had accused Washington and Tel Aviv of "hiding behind" concerns about Iran's nuclear programme to pursue their agenda of a regime change.
Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev -- now deputy chairman of Russia's security council -- said Donald Trump has now shown his "true colours". "No one was ever really interested in negotiating," he wrote on Telegram.
Khamenei's Successor
Following Khamenei's death, Iran has appointed Alireza Arafi as the jurist member of its temporary Leadership Council. A cleric and member of the Guardian Council, Arafi joins President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei on the council, which handles the supreme leader's duties until the Assembly of Experts selects a successor.
