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Thousands of Hezbollah supporters gathered successful Beirut's confederate suburbs to mourn Iran's ultimate person Ayatollah Ali Khamenei connected Sunday (March 1, 2026), chanting "death to America, decease to Israel" portion crying implicit the killed figure.
"God is one, and Khamenei is the leader," they chanted successful unison, wearing achromatic and waving Hezbollah and Iranian flags.
U.S.-Israel strikes connected Iran: Follow LIVE updates connected March 1, 2026
Khamenei was killed erstwhile the United States and Israel began launching waves of strikes against Iran connected Saturday (February 28, 2026), sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic.
U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to proceed striking Iran "as agelong arsenic necessary", portion repeatedly urging Iranians to emergence up and overthrow their government.
In a connection connected Sunday (March 1, 2026), Iran-backed Hezbollah's chief, Naim Qassem, said the assassination of Khamenei and different Iranian officials was "the tallness of crime".
"We volition undertake our work of confronting the aggression," Qassem said, adding that his question would not permission "the tract of honour and resistance".
In Beirut's confederate suburbs, wherever Hezbollah holds sway, mourners lifted up pictures of the killed Iranian leader.
"His decease is precise painful, it is simply a tragedy," said Zainab al-Moussawi, a 23-year-old teacher.
"It felt conscionable similar the martyrdom of the Sayyed," she added, referring to Israel's sidesplitting of Hassan Nasrallah, past the person of Hezbollah, successful 2024.
Sitting successful the beforehand row, mourner Hassan Jaber said: "I inquire Sheikh Naim (Qassem) to spell to war."
Hezbollah has truthful acold not taken enactment since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran connected Saturday (February 28, 2026).
It called connected mosques to recite the Koran and organise mourning ceremonies to people the decease of Khamenei, some successful the Beirut suburbs and different areas of Lebanon wherever the radical wields influence.
However, successful politically-divided Lebanon, Khamenei was not supported by everyone.
"He was ever threatening... Arab countries, and had proxies everywhere," said Hassan Harouq, a 44-year-old caregiver successful Beirut, who told AFP helium conscionable wants the state to beryllium "stable, and for it to marque bid with the region".
"It is clip for Lebanon to beryllium connected the close way again... and beryllium the Switzerland of the East. The Lebanese radical are tired."
Lebanese authorities fearfulness that Hezbollah mightiness intervene to enactment Iran successful this conflict.
The state is inactive struggling to retrieve from a year-long warfare betwixt Hezbollah and Israel that ended with a November 2024 ceasefire, though Israel continues to onslaught targets it says are linked to Hezbollah.
President Joseph Aoun, pursuing an exigency gathering of the country's Higher Defence Council, said connected Sunday (March 1, 2026) that "the determination of warfare and bid rests solely with the Lebanese state".
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam connected Saturday (February 28, 2026) rejected the imaginable of Hezbollah "dragging" the state into war.
