Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has offered his condolences to the nation on the martyrdom of Minister of Intelligence Esmaeel Khatib, who was assassinated in a US-Israeli targeted attack on Tuesday.

“The cowardly assassination of my dear colleagues Esmaeel Khatib, Ali Larijani, and Aziz Nasirzadeh, along with some of their family members and team members, has left us in mourning,” Pezeshkian wrote in a message on X on Wednesday.

He offered his condolences to “the great people of Iran on the martyrdom of two cabinet members, the Secretary of the Supreme Council, and military and Basij commanders,” who were assassinated in coordinated targeted strikes by US-Israeli forces on Tuesday.

Pezeshkian said in a separate message on Tuesday that the martyrdom of Larijani “is bitter and unexpected, but the steadfastness of the Iranian nation and “their achievement of ultimate victory” will make the Zionist criminals regret imposing a war on Iran.

“I am certain their path will continue stronger than ever,” Pezeshkian said.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians paid their respects to Dr. Larijani, and General Soleimani during a mass funeral procession in Tehran on Wednesday.

The procession witnessed one of the largest public gatherings in recent weeks, with crowds filling the streets of Tehran from early morning.

Iranian authorities have denounced all the assassinations as cowardly acts, vowing to avenge them in the most decisive manner. In retaliation, the IRGC launched massive overnight airstrikes targeting over 100 locations in Tel Aviv.

The United States and Israel launched a large-scale, unprovoked war against Iran on February 28, assassinating Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and a number of senior commanders.

Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was among those martyred on the first day of US-Israeli joint military aggression on the country.

Press TV’s website