"What our armed forces did was the least punishment they could do” against Israel, he said. "What is logical and rational will be done at the right time and will be done again in the future if necessary." The Friday service in Tehran included a memorial for the fallen leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, who was eliminated by the Israeli Defense Forces last week. Nasrallah was "one of Ayatollah Khamenei’s closest allies and friends," per NYT. The BBC was slammed by Spiked columnist and commentator Brendan O'Neill, who was horrified that the network gave the Iranian Supreme Leader "succor" on national UK TV.
Tens of thousands gathered at the mosque where the service was held, equipped with Palestinian flags and posters of Nasrallah and Khamenei while Khamenei preached that Muslim nations, dubbed the "axis of resistance" must unite against their "common enemy" Israel.
"The resistance in the region will not back down with these martyrdoms, and will win," he stated, equipped with a rifle in hand as The Times of Israel reports. "Israel will never defeat Hamas and Hezbollah," he added, taking the opportunity to praise Hamas' October 7 massacre in Israel and their ensuing "fierce defense" against the Jewish state.
On Tuesday, Iran launched a barrage of around 200 missiles into various parts of Israel, killing only one Palestinian man living in the West Bank who was hit by a missile fragment. Khamenei claimed this attack was based on international law, Iranian law and Islamic beliefs.
