Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defied the escalating threat of an Israeli strike and held Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in five years. He delivered a fiery sermon, urging neighboring countries to stand up in support against the aggressors.
Khamenei said countries – from Afghanistan to Yemen, Iran, to Gaza and Lebanon – have to tighten the belt of defense. He backed the Axis of Resistance, saying that Hamas and Hezbollah have the legal right to fight Israel. “Every people have the right to defend their land, homes, country, and interests against aggressors,” the Iranian Supreme Leader said.
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Ayatollah Khameni on West’s Support for Israel
Touching on the US and Europe’s unequivocal support for Israel, Khamenei said the West wants to seize all the resources in the Middle East. He criticized the involvement of the US and its allies in the region in support of Israel.
The Supreme Leader said Palestinian people have their rights and no international body has the authority to object to their defense of their land and rights.
Iran’s President Defends Iranian Strikes in Israel
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Israel’s continuous strikes and crimes prompted the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic to give a decisive response. He rebuked the Western countries for making empty promises.
Pezeshkian said the West asked Iran to show restraint in response to Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in July in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza, but that never fructified. “People’s lives, especially those of women and children, are of no value to them,” he pointed out.
