Iran’s supreme leader on Friday called the deadly Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel a “legitimate” act — as he warned the Jewish state “won’t last long” under Iranian bombardment.
In a rare Friday address, with his rifle by his side, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said Iran’s recent missile attack on Israel was “legal and legitimate” and the minimum punishment for Israel’s “crimes,” according to the Telegraph.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran’s recent missile attack on Israel was “legal and legitimate.”
7
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran’s recent missile attack on Israel was “legal and legitimate.”
KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images
He claimed the attacks were justified because they were “logical and legal” and done in self-defense against an oppressor, touting its legality under international law.
Khamenei’s sermon — his first in almost five years — took place just before the first anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.
He eulogized Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader who was killed in a Sept. 27 Israeli strike in Beirut.
“Our resistant people in Lebanon and Palestine, all these testimonies and spilled blood will not shake your will, but rather strengthen your steadfastness,” Khamenei said.
Iran launched a barrage of missiles against Israel Tuesday in retaliation of Nasrallah’s death and the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
Despite this attack having more impact than the earlier strike in April — a Jewish school was among the places badly damaged — there were few casualties.
Two Israelis were injured and the only death was a Palestinian man in the West Bank who was crushed by an intercepted missile fuselage.
Nasrallah, 64, was at the center of what Israeli officials described to The Post as Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” and was responsible for what President Biden called a “four-decade reign of terror.”
Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death Saturday, hours after Israel slammed Beirut with powerful airstrikes — but the group did not acknowledge how its leader was killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Nasrallah’s death a necessary decision in a televised statement Saturday.
“Nasrallah was not just another terrorist, he was the terrorist,” Netanyahu said, adding that airstrikes to reduce Hezbollah’s capability to fight back were not enough.
Iran blames Israel for Haniyeh’s killing, though Israeli officials have not yet claimed responsibility.