Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, has stated that Tuesday’s Iranian attack on neighboring Israel was the “least punishment.” And that the Islamic Republic will attack Israel again “if necessary.”
Iran launched over 200 ballistic missiles toward Israel on Tuesday in response to the execution of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others.
“The brilliant action of our armed forces a couple of nights ago was completely legal and legitimate,” Khamenei said in a Friday speech in Tehran.
He delivered his speech while following Islamic Friday prayer rituals, holding what appeared to be a rifle barrel next to him.
Khamenei last conducted Friday prayers nearly five years ago, to honor the death of Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was killed by the US in an airstrike at Baghdad International Airport.
On Tuesday, Khamenei ordered a missile attack on Israel, partially in retribution to Nasrallah’s death in an Israeli airstrike last Friday.
Khamenei dedicated a significant portion of his speech to Hezbollah and Hassan Nasrallah, who were slain by Israel in Beirut last Friday.
He also supported Hamas’s October 7 strike on Israel, calling it “legitimate.”
The second section of his speech was presented in Arabic to appeal to Lebanese and Palestinian listeners, he explained. “Israel will never defeat Hamas and Hezbollah,” Khamenei declared.
“The people of Palestine have the right — in the face of the enemy who has taken over their land, their home, their farms and impacted their life — to stand up for themselves,” he said.
Almost a year after Hamas’ fatal attack on October 7, Israel is moving forward on numerous fronts, including initiating a land operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, conducting airstrikes in Gaza and Beirut, and threatening reprisal for Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this week.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
