TEHRAN -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Monday that a war crimes case against Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu over the Gaza war was insufficient and that he deserved a “death sentence”.
In his first remarks since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last week, Ayatollah Khamenei told a Tehran meeting that it was “not enough”.
The ICC’s judges said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and his former war minister Yoav Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for using starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally attacking civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“The arrest warrant issued for Netanyahu is not enough and a death sentence should be issued for him and the criminal leaders of the Zionist regime,” said the Leader, speaking to a group of volunteer Basij forces in Tehran on the occasion of Basij Week.  
Ayatollah Khamenei said Israel’s campaign of death and destruction in Gaza over the past 13 months “is not a victory but a war crime”.
“The enemy has not and will not be victorious in Gaza and Lebanon despite its egregious war crimes,” he said. 
“The stupid Zionists assume that by bombarding people’s homes, hospitals, and places where people are gathered, they will be victorious. No, no one in the world considers that to be a victory.”
The Zionist regime’s crimes in Gaza and Lebanon, the Leader said, have backfired on the perpetrators, leading to a strengthening and emboldening of the resistance. 
He said the brave young Palestinians and Lebanese, regardless of their social status or involvement in combat, find themselves under bombardment and the threat of death. 
“Ultimately, they see no alternative but to fight and resist. Thus, these criminal fools are in fact unwittingly expanding the Resistance Front.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said the expansion of the Resistance 
Front is an absolute and inviolable necessity, adding no matter how vast the front is today, it will grow manifold. 
The Leader said the Basij institution is an inherently cultural, social, and military network. 
Ayatollah Khamenei recounted that approximately three weeks after the seizure of the U.S. “Spy Den” embassy in Tehran and hostile American moves in 1979, the late Imam Khomeini turned that significant threat into a great opportunity by establishing the institution of Basij on November 26 and planted this blessed tree in the country’s social, cultural, and military landscape.
The Leader touched on the multifaceted nature of the Basij, asserting that its military dimension is just one aspect. 
He explained that the Basij is primarily a school of thought and ideology, founded on the fundamental principles of faith, belief in God, and self-confidence. 
This foundation, the Leader said, has played and will continue to play a prominent and fruitful role in various areas.
Ayatollah Khamenei cited Iran’s nuclear scientists assassinated by the enemy including Professor Majid Shahriari who was central to the Islamic Republic’s capability to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity, saying they were all Basij members. 
The Leader touched on the history of hegemonic powers seeking to deprive nations of their capabilities and humiliate them.
“According to the verses in the Qur’an, the Pharaoh belittled and humiliated his people to ensure their obedience. However, the Pharaoh was nobler than the current rulers of America and Europe, because not only do they humiliate their own people, but they also belittle other nations in order to plunder their resources and interests.”
Ayatollah Khamenei described domestic agents of imperialism as complementary to the external pressures and psychological warfare of the oppressors. 
“Just as they did during the nationalization of the oil industry, these agents, in harmony with their masters, deny the history, identity, and capabilities of the nation to clear the way for the oppressors.”
The Leader described the ideology of Basij as a bulwark against hegemonic goals. 
“The self-belief rooted in the Basij spirit neutralizes the very dangerous soft weapons of the domineering system, which aims to humiliate, render passive, and instill despair in the nation. 
“This spirit and the abilities arising from it will definitely prevail over all the policies of the United States, the West, and the Zionist regime, both within the country and among the members of the Resistance Front.”
The Leader said a Basiji, with faith in the goal of establishing an Islamic society and civilization and implementing justice, moves forward without fear of death and with a desire for martyrdom. 
“It is down to these qualities that Iranian Basijis are certain that they will ultimately eliminate the Zionist regime one day,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, stressing that the force should strengthen, expand and maintain preparedness.
The Leader said one of the factors strengthening the Basij in the political arena is remaining aware of the plans the region that the U.S. has for the regional countries and confronting them.
 “The ideal scenario for the U.S. to secure its interests in the region is either the prevalence of despotism and dictatorship or chaos and anarchism in countries. Whichever of these two situations that arise in the country, is the enemy’s doing, and the Basij must stand against it.”