Leader: Missile strike ‘least punishment’ for Israel
Palestinian, Lebanese resistance against occupation ‘legal’
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has described as legitimate Iran’s latest retaliatory strikes on the Israeli-occupied territories and said the move was the least punishment for the regime’s crimes and atrocities.
Delivering a public sermon at the weekly Friday prayer to a huge number of worshipers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran, Ayatollah Khamenei hailed “the brilliant work” of Iran’s Armed Forces in launching a missile strike on the Tel Aviv area, stressing that it was “completely legal and legitimate”.
“The brilliant work of our armed forces was completely legal and legitimate. What our armed forces did was the least punishment for the usurping Zionist regime over the astonishing crimes of this wolf-like regime and rabid dog of America,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei added, “Whatever duty the Islamic Republic has in this regard, it will fulfill with strength and fortitude. We will neither delay nor hurry in carrying out the task.”
He underlined that, “What is logical and reasonable and the opinion of the political and military decision makers will be done in the future if necessary, just like it was done.”
The prayer in Tehran followed a commemoration ceremony for Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Ayatollah Khamenei last led Friday prayers in January 2020 after Iran fired missiles at a US army base in Iraq, in response to a strike that martyred anti-terror commander Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani.
Ayatollah Khamenei described Nasrallah as “my brother, my dear and my pride, the beloved face of the Islamic world, and the eloquent voice of the nations of the region, [and] the shining jewel of Lebanon.”
The Leader noted, “We are all saddened and mournful for the martyrdom of Dear Sayyed. This is a great loss and we are deeply saddened, but our mourning does not mean depression, distress and despair.”
Praising the sacrifices of Nasrallah, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “He was the high flag of resistance against oppressive and predatory demons - an eloquent voice and a brave defender of the oppressed. He was a source of encouragement and valor for fighters and rights seekers. His popularity and influence had gone beyond Lebanon, Iran and Arab countries, and now his martyrdom will increase this influence.”
Al-Aqsa Storm ‘internationally legal’
The relentless defense of the Lebanese people for the Palestinians, he said, is “legal, reasonable, logical and legitimate, and no one has the right to criticize them for entering this battle.”
By the same token, the Al-Aqsa Storm operation of Palestinian fighters inside the Israeli occupied territories in October 2023 was “right and internationally legal,” he added.
“The Palestinian nation has the right to stand against the aggressors, and no court has the right to protest to the Palestinian nation for standing against the usurping enemy of Palestine.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said the adamance of the US and its allies on protecting Israel is a “cover for the deadly policy of turning the usurping regime into their tool to take over all the resources of this region and use it in major global conflicts.”
The Leader called on Muslims to unite against the world’s arrogant powers and transgressors who are still following their policy of divide and conquer with all kinds of tricks in the Islamic states.
He also said the time has come for the Islamic Ummah to overcome the plots of the enemies.