Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli strikes was a “declaration of war against Muslims,” AFP reports.

“The assassination of the highest political authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a prominent leader of Shiism worldwide… is perceived as an open declaration of war against Muslims, and particularly against Shias, everywhere in the world,” Pezeshkian said in a statement carried by state TV.