Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei has stated that Iran’s attack on Israel early this week was the minimum punishment for Israel against their crimes.
This came as he delivered a rare Friday sermon as he led prayers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque in Tehran.
It was the Supreme leader’s first of such sermons in more than four years.
Khamenei last led Friday prayers after the United States killed revered General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.
His speech on Friday, October 4, 2024, was preceded by a commemoration for Hezbollah Leader, Hassan Nasrallah, killed last week in the southern suburbs of Beirut in an Israeli strike, alongside Abbas Nilforoushan, a General from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Khamenei, the ultimate authority in Iran, spoke to thousands of worshippers, some of whom are carrying portraits of slain leaders of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” which includes Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and numerous groups in Syria and Iraq.
Calling Iran’s attack on Israel “legal and legitimate,” Khamenei stressed that the resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders.
He emphasized that his country would not “procrastinate or rush to carry out its duty” in confronting Israel but would do that in a considered manner. “We will not act irrationally … not act impulsively,” he said, adding that the country would follow decisions “handed down by our political and military leadership.”
Addressing massive crowds, Khamenei issued a rallying call to Muslim nations that they should unite against common enemy Israel, which he claimed had deployed “psychological, economic and military” warfare against them.
“Our enemy is one. If their policies are sowing the seeds of division in one country, they may prevail and once they seize control of one country, they move to the other.”
Ali Khamenei
According to him, the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed, was a legitimate act.
“The Palestinian people have a lawful right to defend themselves. To stand up to those criminals – the occupation forces. There is not a single court or international organization that can blame the Palestinian people for simply defending their homeland.”
Ali Khamenei
Khamenei Says Israel’s Allies Focused On Seizing Region’ Resources
Moreover, Khamenei claimed that the focus of the U.S. and its allies was to preserve the security of Israel as a cover for seizing the region’s resources and exporting them to the west.
He stated that Israel pretends to win through assassinations, destruction, bombing and killing of civilians.
Israel’s behaviour, he said, increased the resistance’s motivation, adding that this reality shows that every strike launched by any group against Israel is a service to the region and to all humanity.
“Our resistant people in Lebanon and Palestine, all these testimonies and spilled blood will not shake your will, but rather strengthen your steadfastness,” Khamenei said.
During the address, the Supreme Leader eulogised Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah and praised Hezbollah’s ongoing fight against Israel.
“Hezbollah … by defending Gaza, fighting for (Jerusalem’s) Al-Aqsa Mosque and hitting the usurping and tyrannical regime (Israel), took a step (in providing) a vital service to the entire region and the entire Islamic world.”
Ali Khamenei
He labelled Nasrallah “the high-standing flag against the Zionist enemy,” stressing that his martyrdom will further increase this influence and the loss of Nasrallah is not in vain.
Khamenei also referred to Hezbollah as a “blessed tree” that has flourished under Nasrallah’s leadership and vowed to stand up against the enemy.
“It is the duty and responsibility of all Muslims to support the oppressed people of Lebanon and assist in the struggle for al-Aqsa mosque,” he urged.
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