Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei on Friday described his country’s latest missile airstrikes as a “minimum punishment” for Israel’s “astonishing crimes.
Addressing a gathering in Tehran, Khamenei praised the late Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah killing by Israeli forces.
Khamenei’s speech came three days after Iran fired nearly 200 missiles at Israel, in what it said was retaliation for the assassination of Nasrallah.
During his sermon, Khamenei praised Nasrallah and voiced support for Hamas and Hezbollah, which he said provided “vital service to the entire region and the entire Islamic world.
He said Iran-aligned armed groups “will not back down” in their conflict with Israel, which entered a new phase after Hamas launched deadly raids into Israel almost one year ago.
Iran is the main backer of Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as other armed groups around the Middle East which have attacked Israel. They often dub themselves the “Axis of Resistance”.
In recent weeks, several senior leaders of Iran-backed groups and Iran’s powerful military wing, the Revolutionary Guards, have been killed in Israeli strikes or presumed Israeli assassinations.
