IRAN "FULLY PREPARED" TO DEFEND AGAINST AGGRESSION: DIPLOMAT

JOHANNESBURG, March 5 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Iran is "fully prepared" to defend itself and will continue to resist "brutal aggression" by the United States (US) and Israel, said Mansour Shakib Mehr, the Iranian ambassador to South Africa, reported Xinhua.

The assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei by US and Israeli forces "represents a dangerous and unprecedented violation of international norms," Mehr told a news conference in the South African administrative capital of Pretoria on Wednesday night.

"As heads of state are considered inviolable and immune under international law, targeting such a figure undermines the very foundations of sovereign equality," he was quoted as saying by South African media.

Mehr said that waves of strikes had extended beyond military installations to civilian areas.

"In light of these aggressive actions, the Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms its inherent and lawful right to self-defence," the ambassador said, adding that Iran's armed forces remain "fully prepared to defend the nation."

Describing the hostilities as "a historic test for the multilateral system," Mehr called on the United Nations (UN) Security Council and all UN member states to "fulfil their serious responsibility in preserving international peace and security."

The ambassador's remarks come amid a rapidly escalating crisis in the Middle East, where military confrontations between Iran on the one hand and the US and Israel on the other have entered their sixth day.

Several other regional countries have also been directly impacted.

The US and Israel waged sudden airstrikes against Iran on Saturday morning, killing Khamenei, senior military commanders and some 100 civilians.

Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US military bases across the Middle East.

Reports indicate that the death toll in Iran has reached approximately 1,000. 

--BERNAMA-XINHUA