Beirut. Iran’s supreme leader defended the missile attack against Israel this Friday in an unusual sermon and promised that his allies in the Middle East will continue fighting.
This speech, delivered in Arabic and not Farsi – the most widely spoken language in Iran – is the first by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since the Islamic republic launched the second attack in its history against Israel.
An Israeli attack in Beirut targeted Hashem Safieddine, widely considered the heir to slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Via Graphic News
It is also the first since cross-border violence between the Islamist movement Hezbollah and the Israeli army led to a war in Lebanon.
Almost a year after the attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, which triggered the conflict in Gaza, the Hebrew State announced that the “center of gravity” had shifted north, on the Lebanese border.
The Hamas attack was “a logical and legitimate international act, and the Palestinians were right,” said Khamenei, whose country does not recognize the State of Israel.
“The resistance in the region will not retreat from these martyrdoms and will win,” he added, referring to the assassinations of Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader who died on September 27 in an Israeli bombing near Beirut, and of Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas, in an attack attributed to Israel on July 31 in Tehran.
Israel “cannot seriously harm” Hezbollah and Hamas, he said, stressing that Hezbollah’s fight is “vital for the entire region.”
Beyond Tehran, crowds of protesters gathered in Jordan and Bahrain in a show of support for Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.
President Joe Biden has indicated that the US is discussing the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure in response to Tehran’s missile offensive on October 1. Via Graphic News
#Iranian #Supreme #Leader #Vows #Allies #Continue #Fighting #Israel
–
