Iran’s Khamenei Says October 7 Attack Was Legitimate

Iran’s Khamenei Says October 7 Attack Was Legitimate, So Was Iran’s Strike on Israel

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered his first public sermon in five years on Friday. He emphasized that the Islamic Republic’s missile attacks on Israel were “legal,” and that Hamas’s attack on the Jewish nation on October 7 last year was also “legitimate.” Khamenei warned that Iran would attack “occupied Palestine” again if provoked.

“The Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7, 2023, was a correct move. Palestinians had the right to do this. Our right to strike at the Zionist entity several days ago was totally legitimate,” he stated. Khamenei also backed the Lebanese group Hezbollah’s move to target Israel, asserting that Iran and its allies would defeat their “enemies” together.

He praised Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, saying his influence will grow in the region despite Israel killing him in an airstrike on September 27. “Nasrallah was an admired personality in the world and an outspoken voice of nations in the region,” Khamenei said.

Khamenei called for unity among Muslim-majority nations to defeat “our common enemy,” highlighting the ‘Axis of Resistance,’ a network of Iranian-backed militia groups opposed to Israel and the US. He accused the US of exploiting regional resources with Israel’s help, claiming that Washington uses the Jewish nation as a “tool.”

“The Americans and the Zionist entity are dreaming. The Zionist entity will be uprooted from the ground as it is fake. It only exists because of support from Americans,” he asserted.

Khamenei’s sermon came three days before the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war, triggered by the Palestinian group’s attack on October 7. Tensions have escalated following Iran’s missile barrage on Israel and the killing of Nasrallah, raising the risk of a full-blown war if Israel retaliates.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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