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- Khamenei Says Iran’s Allies ‘Will Not Back Down’ in War with Israel
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, assured on Friday, with a rifle beside him, that Tehran's allies, notably Hamas and Hezbollah, will not "back down" against Israel, which "won't last much longer."
The head of state was speaking in Tehran before thousands of people, three days before the first anniversary of Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israeli soil, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
His speech comes a few days after Iranian missile strikes against Israel and the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli raid in Beirut on September 27.
Ayatollah Khamenei, speaking in Arabic during this rare sermon, deemed Tuesday's attacks against Israel, carried out with 200 missiles, and the one on October 7, as "legitimate."
For him, Tuesday's strike is "the least" of the responses against Israel.
The Revolutionary Guards, Iran's ideological army, had stated that this operation was a retaliatory measure for the assassinations of Nasrallah and one of their commanders, Abbas Nilforoushan, on September 27.
It was also aimed at avenging the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, on July 31 in Tehran, in an attack attributed to Israel by Iran and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
The Hamas offensive against Israel a year ago was "logical and legitimate, and the Palestinians were right," said Ali Khamenei.
He further stated that Hezbollah's fight, which has been firing on northern Israel since October 2023 in support of Hamas, was providing a "vital service to the entire region," and that Israel could not "seriously harm" the pro-Iranian group, whose many leaders were killed in recent days in raids by Israeli forces.
"Hezbollah, by defending Gaza (...) and striking the usurping and tyrannical regime (Israel), has (...) rendered a vital service to the entire region and the entire Islamic world," he said.
Hamas and Hezbollah are part of the "axis of resistance" against Israel, a group so named by Iran, which includes allied movements like the Yemeni Houthi rebels and Iraqi groups.
"Resistance in the region will not back down despite its martyrs and will achieve victory," insisted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate decision-maker in the main issues of the Islamic Republic.
This week's Iranian attack was the second carried out by Iran against Israel, following missile and drone strikes in April, in retaliation for a deadly airstrike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, attributed to Israel.
In both cases, the Israeli military said it intercepted most of the strikes, aided by its allies, foremost the United States.
Israel has vowed to respond to Tuesday's Iranian attack.
The last time Khamenei led Friday prayers was in January 2020, after an Iranian missile attack on two bases housing Americans in Iraq, in retaliation for the US drone strike that had just killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, a commander of the Guards, in Baghdad.
With AFP
The head of state was speaking in Tehran before thousands of people, three days before the first anniversary of Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israeli soil, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
His speech comes a few days after Iranian missile strikes against Israel and the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli raid in Beirut on September 27.
Ayatollah Khamenei, speaking in Arabic during this rare sermon, deemed Tuesday's attacks against Israel, carried out with 200 missiles, and the one on October 7, as "legitimate."
For him, Tuesday's strike is "the least" of the responses against Israel.
The Revolutionary Guards, Iran's ideological army, had stated that this operation was a retaliatory measure for the assassinations of Nasrallah and one of their commanders, Abbas Nilforoushan, on September 27.
It was also aimed at avenging the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, on July 31 in Tehran, in an attack attributed to Israel by Iran and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
The Hamas offensive against Israel a year ago was "logical and legitimate, and the Palestinians were right," said Ali Khamenei.
He further stated that Hezbollah's fight, which has been firing on northern Israel since October 2023 in support of Hamas, was providing a "vital service to the entire region," and that Israel could not "seriously harm" the pro-Iranian group, whose many leaders were killed in recent days in raids by Israeli forces.
"Hezbollah, by defending Gaza (...) and striking the usurping and tyrannical regime (Israel), has (...) rendered a vital service to the entire region and the entire Islamic world," he said.
Hamas and Hezbollah are part of the "axis of resistance" against Israel, a group so named by Iran, which includes allied movements like the Yemeni Houthi rebels and Iraqi groups.
"Resistance in the region will not back down despite its martyrs and will achieve victory," insisted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate decision-maker in the main issues of the Islamic Republic.
This week's Iranian attack was the second carried out by Iran against Israel, following missile and drone strikes in April, in retaliation for a deadly airstrike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, attributed to Israel.
In both cases, the Israeli military said it intercepted most of the strikes, aided by its allies, foremost the United States.
Israel has vowed to respond to Tuesday's Iranian attack.
The last time Khamenei led Friday prayers was in January 2020, after an Iranian missile attack on two bases housing Americans in Iraq, in retaliation for the US drone strike that had just killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, a commander of the Guards, in Baghdad.
With AFP
This Is Beirut
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