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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Iranian leaders Monday as Iran held multi-day funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying any leader who tries to advance plans to destroy Israel would be stopped.
"Any Iranian leader who attempts to advance plans to destroy Israel will be thwarted," Katz said, according to a spokesperson.
Katz said Khamenei, whose funeral ceremonies are underway, was killed by Israel because he "initiated and led the plan to destroy Israel in Iran and across the region."
He added that U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran had "removed the immediate existential threats facing Israel and severely damaged Iran's strategic capabilities."
Iran began six days of funeral ceremonies Saturday for Khamenei, with thousands of mourners filling Tehran's Grand Mosalla.
Iranian authorities hope the ceremonies will serve as a show of strength to the Islamic Republic's adversaries.
Authorities expect between 15 million and 20 million participants in Tehran alone over three days, a turnout that would make it the largest state funeral in Iran's history, surpassing the 1989 burial of Khamenei's predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini.
Prayers were held Sunday over Khamenei's casket at the Grand Mosalla complex as three of his sons made their first public appearance since he was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike in late February.
Mostafa, Masoud and Meysam Hosseini Khamenei appeared Sunday to pray over their father's body.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who became Iran's third supreme leader after his father's death, remained absent from the funeral prayers.
Mojtaba, who is said to have been wounded in the Feb. 28 attack, has not appeared in public since being named supreme leader.
Katz also criticized mourners who chanted "Death to Trump" during the funeral, calling them "disgraceful" and saying they "reveal the true nature of the ayatollah regime."
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