ISTANBUL 

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed Wesdnesday that the “criminal murderers” behind the killing of top security official Ali Larijani will “soon have to pay.”

In a statement on the US social media company X, Khamenei said he received “with deep sorrow” the news about the killing of Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, along with his son and several colleagues.

He described Larijani as “a man of knowledge, foresight and wisdom,” adding that nearly five decades of service across political, military, security, cultural and administrative fields had made him “an eminent figure.”

Khamenei said Larijani’s assassination “attests to his importance and the enmity harbored by the enemies of Islam toward him,” warning that “shedding the blood of such people… will only make it stronger.”

“Every drop of blood has its due retribution” and that the “criminal murderers of these martyrs will soon have to pay,” he vowed.

Iranian authorities said Larijani was killed early Tuesday in a US-Israeli strike that also claimed the lives of his son Morteza, his aide Alireza Bayat, several council staff members, and bodyguards.

The US and Israel have continued a joint offensive on Iran since Feb. 28, killing so far around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.