Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei says Netanyahu should be executed with ICC arrest warrant for war crimes ‘not enough’

Iran’s supreme leader has claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be ‘sentenced to death’ for alleged war crimes committed in the ongoing wars in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comments Monday during an event in which he spoke to members of the Basij, the all-volunteer branch of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards.

Khamenei added that the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was “not enough.”

“What the Zionist regime has done in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory, it is a war crime. Now they have issued an arrest warrant for them. This isn’t enough!’ Khamenei said, according to comments published by state news agency IRNA.

“Netanyahu and the criminal leaders of this regime must be sentenced to death.”

The International Criminal Court in The Hague does not issue death sentences.

Khamenei also emphasized that those part of Iran’s self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance,” such as the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah, would be stronger after the war.

“The idiots should not think that bombing houses and hospitals in Gaza and Lebanon is a victory,” he said. “The enemy has not and will not become a winner in Gaza and Lebanon.”

Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) faces an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court

A view of the destruction following an Israeli airstrike on a building in the Nuseirat camp in the Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024

It comes as Israel’s ambassador to Washington claimed a ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached “within days.”

Ambassador Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio on Monday that “items still need to be finalized” and that any deal would require government approval. But he said “we are close to a deal” and that “it could happen within days.”

Among the remaining issues is Israel’s demand to reserve the right to act if Hezbollah violates its obligations under the emerging deal. The deal is intended to drive Hezbollah and Israeli forces out of southern Lebanon.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of failing to comply with a UN resolution that ended the 2006 war between the sides that had made similar provisions.

It said it is concerned that Hezbollah could stage a Hamas-style cross-border attack from southern Lebanon if it maintains a strong presence there.

Lebanon says Israel has also violated the 2006 resolution. Lebanon complains about military aircraft and naval ships entering Lebanese territory even when there is no active conflict.

It is not clear whether Lebanon would agree to the demand.

Palestinian families, forcibly displaced by the Israeli army and taking refuge in tent camps, struggle due to harsh weather conditions during the ongoing Israeli attacks in Khan Yunis, Gaza on November 24, 2024

A Palestinian inspects the rubble of a house destroyed during an Israeli attack on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024

A Palestinian girl rests on the rubble of a destroyed building west of Gaza City, November 25, 2024

The optimism around a deal comes after a top US envoy held talks between the sides last week in an attempt to strike a deal.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ horrific attack on southern Israel, in which the terror group killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250.

That escalated into an all-out war in September with massive Israeli air strikes on Lebanon and later an Israeli ground invasion in the south of the country.

Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli towns and villages, including around 250 on Sunday.