Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei says he will not back down from Israel

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that Iran and its regional allies will not back down from Israel following an Israeli attack in Beirut believed to have targeted Hassan Nasrallah’s successor. , the murdered leader of Hezbollah, a group supported by Tehran.

Iran raised the stakes by firing missiles at Israel on Tuesday after its enemy assassinated Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary general and an imposing figure who transformed the group into Lebanon’s most powerful military and political force. , with reach throughout the Middle East. Israel promised to react.

“Resistance in the region will not retreat even with the death of its leaders,” Khamenei said in a rare appearance leading Friday prayers in Tehran, mentioning Nasrallah in his speech and calling the attack on Israel legal and legitimate.

He did not mention Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, who was rumored to be Nasrallah’s successor. Axios reporter Barak Ravid cited three Israeli officials who said Safieddine was targeted in an underground bunker in Beirut overnight.

Safieddine’s fate was unclear, Ravid said in X.

The Israeli military declined to comment and Hezbollah did not mention Safieddine’s fate. His brother Sayyed Abdallah Safieddine, who is Hezbollah’s representative in Iran, attended Khamenei’s speech in Tehran.

Iran’s representatives in its Axis of Resistance – Hezbollah, Houthis in Yemen and armed groups in Iraq – carried out attacks in the region in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza war. Khamenei said Afghanistan should join the “defense.”

Ceasefire

Also on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Tehran supports efforts for a ceasefire in Lebanon, on condition that it is supported by Hezbollah and that it is simultaneous to a ceasefire in Lebanon. Gaza Strip.

“We support efforts for a ceasefire on the condition that it is acceptable to the Lebanese people, acceptable to the resistance and, thirdly, that it is synchronized with a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.

Iran’s top diplomat also said his presence in Beirut “under these difficult circumstances” is the best proof that Iran stands with Lebanon and supports Shiites.

Context

Israel has assassinated leaders and commanders of Hezbollah and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that the country has been trying to eliminate in Gaza since the attack on Israel a year ago.

The Israeli military said on Friday that it eliminated the head of Hezbollah’s communications networks, Mohammad Rashid Sakafi, through a “precise, intelligence-based strike” in Beirut on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden suggested on Thursday that Israel’s response to Iran’s missiles, which were shot down by its extensive defenses, could include an attack on Iran’s oil facilities.

The southern Beirut suburb of Dahiye, a Hezbollah stronghold, came under renewed attacks around midnight on Thursday after Israel ordered people to leave their homes in some areas, residents and security sources said. security.

Huge explosions shook the sky near Beirut’s main airport in the early hours of Friday, and Lebanese civilians said they were living in constant fear.

Tensions between Iran and Israel have been high as Israel is evaluating options for responding to Tehran’s ballistic missile attack on Tuesday, which Iran carried out in response to Israel’s military action in Lebanon.

With information from Reuters*