Tehran
\nThe surprise attack on Israel launched by Hamas last year was a \u201clogical and legal\u201d step towards defeating the \u201cmalicious and cowardly\u201d Zionist regime, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said.
\nOn Friday, in his first public sermon in nearly five years, Khamenei defended the actions against Israel by the \u2018axis of resistance\u2019, which includes the Lebanese-based Hezbollah and Palestinian group Hamas.
\nMonday marks one year since the start of Israel\u2019s military operation in Gaza, which came in response to Hamas\u2019 surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,100 people were killed and more than 200 people were taken hostage. Israel\u2019s campaign in the enclave, following years of a de-facto blockade of Gaza, has resulted in the deaths of over 41,000 Palestinians, Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry said earlier this week.
\nTensions between Israel and neighboring Muslim countries have soared during the Gaza operation, with both Iran and Hezbollah supporting Hamas and Palestine. Earlier this month, the conflict entered a new stage as Israel launched a ground operation in Lebanon. In retaliation, Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel this week.
\nKhamenei said in his sermon that the Palestinians, like \u201cevery people,\u201d have \u201cthe right to defend their land, their home, their country, and their interests against aggressors,\u201d and this \u201clogic is supported by international law.\u201d He added that \u201cthose who help\u201d the Palestinians and support them are merely \u201cdoing their duty.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is the rule of Islam, the rule of reason, and international and global logic. The Palestinians are defending their land; their defense is legitimate, and helping them is also logical and legal,\u201d he stated.
\nHe defended Iran\u2019s recent missile attack on Israel, saying it was \u201cthe minimum punishment for the usurping and bloodthirsty Zionist regime\u2026 whose only achievement has been to bomb homes, schools, hospitals and civilian gathering centers\u201d in Gaza.
\nKhamenei went on to say that Iran \u201cwill perform any duty required\u201d to see Israel defeated, claiming that West Jerusalem has only managed to \u201csurvive\u201d for so long due to the assistance of its allies in the West.
\n\u201cThis regime acts like rabid wolves and raging dogs of America in the region. This malicious and cowardly entity has barely kept itself afloat thanks to America\u2019s support, and it will not last long,\u201d he said.
\nKhamenei stressed that the main problem in the Middle East is foreign interference, as \u201cthe countries of the region are capable of establishing security and peace\u201d if left alone. He criticized America\u2019s involvement and support for West Jerusalem, saying the US has never wanted peace in the Middle East, but has instead been pursuing the goal \u201cof turning Israel into a tool to seize all the natural resources of the region and invest them in major global conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tehran The surprise attack on Israel launched by Hamas last year was a \u201clogical and legal\u201d step towards defeating the \u201cmalicious and cowardly\u201d Zionist regime, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said. On Friday, in his first public sermon in nearly five years, Khamenei defended the actions against Israel by the \u2018axis of resistance\u2019, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-435768","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n