Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that Iran and its regional proxies will not back down against Israel, just hours after an Israeli attack on Beirut that is believed to have been an assassination attempt on Hezbollah’s leader’s successor.
“The brilliant action by our armed forces a few nights ago was completely lawful and legitimate,” Khamenei said in a rare public appearance as he led Friday prayers in Tehran, referring to Iran’s missile strike on Israel on Tuesday.
Khamenei stated that the recent Iranian attack was the minimal punishment for Israel’s “evil deeds.”
Addressing a large crowd during Friday prayers, he said that Iran will neither “delay nor act recklessly in fulfilling its duty” when it comes to confronting Israel.
On Tuesday, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel, calling it retaliation for Israeli attacks that killed the head of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut last Friday and the leader of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran in July.
