Iran's supreme leader says legal cases must be pursued against US, Israel over 'child killings, war crimes'

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Sunday that legal cases must be pursued against the US and Israel over “child killings and war crimes” in Iran.

Mojtaba, who has not appeared publicly since being named as the supreme leader on March 8, made these remarks in his message on the death anniversary of then-Iranian judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti and several key political figures in a bomb blast in 1981.

The message was shared on his official X account and reported by the Iranian media.

In his written message, Mojtaba stated: “One of the most important legal, judicial issues now affecting the Iranian nation is the pursuit and vindication of their rights that have been violated by the crimes of international criminals, global arrogant powers & aggressors, particularly in the years 1404 and 1405.”

The mention of the two wars is a reference to the 12-day Israel-Iran war in 2025 and another one that began with the launch of US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February this year.

He added that physical and psychological damages “inflicted on each individual of the Iranian nation in the 2nd and 3rd imposed wars, from child killings and war crimes in Minab and Lamerd to attacks on medical centres, is each a legal file that must be pursued in both domestic and international courts.”

He further stated that from the “murder” of newborns and the elderly to the assassination of his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “each is a file among thousands of major legal cases that must be earnestly pursued in domestic and international courts”.

“What is definite is that these criminals must be seized by the collar and brought to justice for their criminal deeds,” he asserted.

Mojtaba went on to say that the “confessions, and even brazen boasting, of some of the leaders of the US-Zionist enemy regarding these crimes, are indisputably an admission of crime, and these effectively pave the way for the vindication of the [Iranian] nation’s rights that have been violated”.

“The investigation of crimes committed during the second imposed war, as well as the third imposed war, and continuously pursuing this matter until a verdict is reached, is entrusted to the competent authorities, and this will in turn serve to prevent the recurrence of such crimes,” he added.

The recent conflict between Tehran and Washington began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The conflict widened to the rest of the Middle East as Iran targeted US bases and assets in Gulf countries and blocked the Strait of Hormuz — a maritime corridor that served as a passage for one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply in peacetime — as retaliatory measures. However, Iran has not accepted responsibility for all attacks in Gulf countries.

On April 8, both sides agreed on a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire, which was followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 18 under Pakistan’s mediation, aimed at putting a lasting end to the war.

However, the hope of ending hostilities is diminishing amid an escalation as both sides traded fresh strikes and accusations over the weekend.