Shafaq News- Beirut

Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Sunday mourned the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes, but stopped short of announcing that it would join the ongoing war alongside Tehran.

In a statement, the Iran-backed group described Khamenei as a central figure in strengthening the Islamic Republic and the broader Axis of Resistance. “He was martyred at the hands of the most wretched terrorists of this era -the Israeli and American aggressors,” the statement said, praising his role in consolidating Iran’s power and influence across scientific, political, and military fields.

Hezbollah extended condolences to Iran’s leadership, including the government, parliament, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as to the Iranian public and what it described as the wider “nation of resistance.”

The group pledged to continue its “path of resistance” and reaffirmed support for Iran, but did not announce any direct military involvement in the conflict.

The statement came as fighting between Iran, the United States, and Israel continued to escalate. The conflict began on Saturday when US and Israeli forces launched large-scale strikes inside Iran, targeting senior leadership and strategic facilities, including sites linked to Khamenei, his adviser Ali Shamkhani, and senior military commanders such as the Iranian defense minister and the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and US military facilities across the region, including bases in Gulf states and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Iranian strikes also targeted airports and infrastructure in several Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Fighting continued today, with Iran claiming it had targeted the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, while US forces carried out additional strikes on military sites inside Iran.