Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday that the world's top court should have sentenced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to death for war crimes, ramping up his rhetoric against Iran's arch-foe.
“Issuing an arrest warrant is not enough; a death sentence for Netanyahu should be issued,” Khamenei said in a speech to members of the Basij militia.
The ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Deif, the Hamas military leader who is presumed dead.
These warrants allege war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the Gaza conflict triggered by Hamas’s attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. However, Khamenei demanded harsher penalties for Israeli officials, accusing them of criminality in their military operations against Gaza and Lebanon.
The Gaza conflict led to direct military confrontation between Israel and Iran this year, and can still turn into a more serious war in the region. Iran also faces more potential sanctions and pressure by the incoming Trump administration.
Khamenei’s demand comes as international legal bodies, including the ICC, stand firmly opposed to capital punishment. Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized Iran for its extensive use of the death penalty, labeling it a violation of international norms.
This contradiction underscores the disparity between Khamenei’s calls for justice abroad and the practices of his system at home, where capital punishment is frequently employed against political dissidents and protesters.
Khamenei justified his remarks by referencing Israel’s military response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks, which killed approximately 1,200 Israelis, including 46 Americans, and led to the abduction of nearly 250 hostages.
Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, receives significant support from Tehran.
Khamenei’s criticism of Israel comes as the Islamic Republic has cracked down on domestic dissent. Groups like Iran Human Rights have documented systematic killings and repression since protests erupted in 2022. Hundreds of protesters have been killed, and thousands more injured or imprisoned, with these actions widely condemned by international human rights organizations.
Khamenei also hailed the growth of the so-called Resistance Front, a term used by Iranian officials to describe Tehran-backed armed groups in the region, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and other militias.
“Today, the Resistance Front has grown significantly; tomorrow, this growth will multiply,” Khamenei said, emphasizing his commitment to supporting anti-Israel factions despite international criticism.
Iran’s Statistics Center revealed that rental rates in urban areas rose by approximately 42% in the last 12 months compared to the same period last year. This rate significantly outpaced general inflation by 8.6 percentage points, despite a government-imposed cap of 25% on rent hikes announced in July.
Since July, following the implementation of a cap on rent increases, annual inflation in this sector, as reported by the Statistics Center, has been recorded at 41.4% in August, 41.7% in September, 41.8% in October, and now 41.7% in November.
Throughout these four months, rent inflation has exceeded general inflation. From September to November, rent inflation compared to general inflation has been reported to be higher by 6.6, 7.5, 8.2, and 8.6 percentage points, respectively.
The cost of renting has faced a significant surge since 2020, a combination of housing prices rising and the country's inflation rising since 2019. The government’s strategy of command pricing is not addressing the root causes of inflation, reported the financial newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad.
Rental price inflation is part of a wider trend of rising costs in Iran, with recent moves by the government signaling potential price increases in gasoline and automobiles. It comes alongside rising energy costs and insufficient incomes.
The government recently authorized controversial measures to burn mazut in power plants to address the energy crisis, exacerbating environmental and public health concerns. Meanwhile, a resolution by the Economic Council mandates higher gas tariffs to curb overconsumption, further burdening households.
Simultaneously, domestic carmakers Iran Khodro and SAIPA announced price increases of up to 30% for their products, citing financial losses and heavy debts. Critics have called the car market one-sided, accusing the government of supporting monopolistic practices by banning imports.
The situation is reminiscent of the 2019 fuel price protests which saw widespread unrest and the deaths of hundreds of protesters. Economists warn that any rise in fuel prices could trigger inflationary shocks across the economy.
Hossein Raghfar, an economist at Al-Zahra University told Jamaran News: “Raising fuel prices without addressing systemic economic issues will harm everyone and increase tensions."
As the Iranian government struggles to manage rising costs and budget deficits, the consequences of inflation are felt acutely by ordinary citizens with one third of Iranians now living below the poverty line and basic goods like food becoming ever harder to afford.
Speaking during an open session of parliament on Sunday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf criticized the resolution, accusing the United States and European nations of using Iran's nuclear program as a pretext for unjustified actions.
He said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran's reciprocal response to this political misuse of the Board of Governors was immediately put into action, and the deployment of a set of new and advanced centrifuges has begun".
The IAEA resolution, backed by major Western powers, expresses concerns over Iran’s lack of cooperation in addressing undeclared nuclear sites and calls for full compliance with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Tehran, however, has dismissed these concerns and accused the agency of undermining trust through such decisions.
In a statement, France, Germany, the US and the UK criticized Iran’s response on Saturday, emphasizing the lack of credible peaceful rationale for expanding its nuclear program.
They warned that Tehran’s actions could deepen mistrust and further destabilize diplomatic efforts to address its nuclear ambitions.
“[We] note with serious concern Iran’s announcement that, instead of responding to the IAEA resolution with cooperation, it plans to respond with further expansion of its nuclear program in ways that have no credible peaceful rationale."
They also added that with this resolution, the IAEA Board emphasizes the essential and urgent need for Iran to resolve outstanding issues.
The western nations raised hope that Iran will use the time leading up to this report to provide the necessary information and cooperation to address these concerns. Last year, Iran banned a third of the IAEA's inspectors throwing relations between the two into a crisis.
“[This way,] the Agency is able to provide assurance that Iran’s program remains exclusively peaceful, and the Board can close consideration of this matter. If it does not, it will be important that the Board remain engaged to meet the challenge that Iran’s continued refusal to meet its NPT-related nuclear verification obligations would present, including to the credibility of the global IAEA safeguards regime.”
The development comes amid the prolonged deadlock over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, which Iran claims the resolution jeopardizes.
The IAEA’s calls for compliance and Iran’s defiance highlight the growing divide between Tehran and Western nations. As both sides dig in, the possibility of a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear standoff appears increasingly tenuous.