Hawzah News Agency- Ayatollah Alireza Arafi’s letter, dispatched in the wake of the shocking martyrdom of Iran’s Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, describes a nation plunged into "immense and unparalleled mourning." According to the report, the "criminal American-Zionist coalition" struck on the morning of March 1, 2026, assassinating the revered Shia authority inside his office in Tehran along with several companions and commanders.
"Targeting the highest religious authority of a faith with several hundred million followers... is an act unprecedented in the history of religions and an open insult to all followers of divine faiths," Ayatollah Arafi wrote. He warned that the attack opens a "new chapter of insolence," setting a dangerous precedent where any tyrannical power might consider the life of any spiritual leader as a legitimate target.
The letter draws a direct line from the assassination to the Leader’s unwavering defense of the oppressed people of Palestine. Ayatollah Arafi reminded the Pope that the threats against the late Ayatollah Khamenei stemmed from his vocal opposition to the genocide and occupation in Gaza—a crime the Pope himself has repeatedly and rightly condemned as the "killing of innocents."
In a harrowing passage, the letter details a simultaneous atrocity, describing it as an act of "sheer savagery." The same aggressors reportedly bombed a girls' elementary school in the southern city of Minab, massacring nearly 170 innocent students between the ages of 8 and 12.
"Today, defending the children of Minab, just like the children of Gaza, is an ethical, religious, and human responsibility for all of us," the letter implores, stating that the images of the "innocent angels" and their scattered belongings under the rubble would "pain the heart of any free human being."
Addressing the Pope as the standard-bearer of interfaith dialogue and global peace, Ayatollah Arafi expressed the expectation of the Iranian nation that the Holy See, as an independent moral institution, will condemn this "blatant example of a 'war crime,' a 'crime against humanity,' and an 'insult to the dignity of religious leaders'" with a resounding voice.
"The peace-loving and religious nation of Iran is today stricken with a painful tragedy before the eyes of the world’s awakened consciences," the letter concludes, calling on the Vatican to dissociate this crime from the merciful teachings of Christ.
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