TEHRAN — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Muslims on Saturday “to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the … wicked regime (of Israel).”
Khamenei, in a statement after the Israeli army said it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, said: “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront,” state media reported.
He condemned Saturday what he described as Israel’s “short-sighted” policy after strikes on Lebanon that Israel said killed Nasrallah.
“The massacre of the defenseless people in Lebanon once again revealed the ferocity of the Zionist rabid dog to everyone, and proved the short-sighted and stupid policy of the leaders of the usurping regime,” Khamenei said in a statement.
Khamenei’s statement gave no mention of Nasrallah but he said Israel was “too weak to cause significant damage to the solid construction of Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
He called on the “Axis of Resistance”, Iran-aligned armed groups across the Middle East that have targeted Israel and its US ally, to stand with Hezbollah.
“Lebanon will make the aggressor and the evil enemy regretful,” said Khamenei.
Reuters earlier reported that Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place, citing two regional officials briefed by Tehran.
The sources said Iran was in constant contact with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Israel announced that it had killed Nasrallah in a strike on south Beirut on Friday.
AN-REUTERS/AFP
