Ayatollah Khamenei Praises Missile Strike on Tel Aviv as 'Legal and Legitimate'
Ayatollah Khamenei made these remarks during a public sermon at the weekly Friday prayer, attended by a large number of worshipers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran.
He stated, "The brilliant work of our armed forces was completely legal and legitimate. What our armed forces did was the least punishment for the usurping Israeli regime over the astonishing crimes of this wolf-like regime and rabid dog of America."
He further emphasized, "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. 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 has been 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 killed 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."
Read More:
He added, "I felt it necessary to pay tribute to Mr. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (May God bless him and grant him peace) in the Friday prayer in Tehran, and to convey some notifications to everyone."
He addressed the sermon to the entire Islamic world, with a special focus on the nations of Lebanon and Palestine. "We are all saddened and mourned by 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. It is a kind of mourning for the Master of Martyrs Hussein ibn Ali. It is enlivening, instructive, motivating," he said, referring to Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of Shia Muslims.
Ayatollah Khamenei noted that although Nasrallah's body has left this world, "his true personality, his soul, his way, and his expressive voice are still among us and will be with us forever."
He described Nasrallah as "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."
Read More:
He urged all Muslims to "pay their debt to the wounded and bloody Lebanon." He stated, "Hezbollah and the Martyr Sayyed, by defending Gaza and Jihad for Al-Aqsa Mosque and striking the usurping and tyrannical regime, took a step in the path of vital service to the entire region and the entire Islamic world."
Ayatollah Khamenei criticized the US and its allies for their steadfast support of Israel, describing it as 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." He added, "Their policy is to turn the regime into a gateway for the export of energy from the region to the Western world and the import of goods and technology from the West to the region. This tells us that every attack on the regime by anyone and every group is a service to the entire region and to the entire humanity."
Source: Agencies
