Senior Iranian Clerics: Any Attack on Leadership Is Tantamount to War Crime

By Staff, Agencies

Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi and Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani said any attack or threat to the leadership and religious authority is tantamount to a war crime.

The Senior Iranian clerics said this in their religious decrees issued on Sunday.

Ayatollah Shirazi said that any person or regime that threatens or attacks the leadership and religious authority in order to harm the Islamic Ummah and its sovereignty is subject to the ruling of confrontation.

Any denial of this or any support for such acts by Muslims or Islamic governments is forbidden, he added.

“All Muslims around the world must make these enemies regret their words and mistakes, and if they suffer hardship or loss, they will have the reward of a fighter in the path of Allah, God willing,” he stated.

“May Allah protect the Islamic community from the evil of the enemies,” he said.

Ayatollah Noori-Hamedani said that insulting the position of the Shiite authority and the person of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, is considered an insult to the very principles of Islam.

“Today, His Eminence is leading the Islamic Ummah with all his strength and courage. There is no doubt that supporting him is obligatory, and weakening him is forbidden, especially in these circumstances when all the enemies of Islam, the Quran, and the Ahl al-Bayt [peace be upon them] have united,” he stated.

“Any attack or threat against him and the Shiite authority, whether by an individual or a state, is regarded as an act of enmity. Anyone who assists in this crime is considered equally responsible,” he said.