Categories: World

Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei defends missile barrage against Israel in rare sermon

close Video

Biden claims Israel’s response to Iran should be ‘proportional’

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., argues the Biden-Harris administration is ‘out of step’ with the conflict in the Middle East.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared in a rare sermon Friday that his country’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this week was “legal and legitimate” and that the “resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders.” 

The public address from Khamenei was his first during Friday prayers in Tehran in nearly five years, according to the AFP.  

Khamenei said Iran will not “procrastinate nor act hastily to carry out its duty” in going after Israel, Reuters reports. 

The news agency cited him as saying that Tuesday’s barrage of nearly 200 missiles fired by Iran at Israel was “legal and legitimate” and the minimum punishment for Israel’s “crimes.” 

IRAN WARNS OF ‘DECISIVE RESPONSE’ IF ISRAEL CROSSES ‘RED LINES’ 

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday Prayers and a commemoration ceremony of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 4. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

“The resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders,” Khamenei reportedly added, mentioning recently slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during the speech. 

The remarks came as the Israel Defense Forces announced Friday that Mohammad Rashid Sakafi, the commander of Hezbollah’s Communications Unit, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon. 

“Sakafi was a senior Hezbollah terrorist, who was responsible for the communications unit since 2000,” the IDF wrote on X. “Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah’s units.” 

ISRAEL BANS UN SECRETARY-GENERAL OVER ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIONS 

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that Iran’s missile attack on Israel this week was “legal and legitimate,” Reuters reports.  (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier this week that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective” and that the U.S. military coordinated with the IDF to repel the strikes.  

“U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli Air Defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team,” Sullivan said during a briefing.  

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets during the missile attack, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 1. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“This is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel… We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure, first and foremost, American interests and then to promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward,” he added. 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

Share

Recent Posts

Researchers create revolutionary AI fabric that predicts road damage before it happens

Road crews may soon get a major assist from artificial intelligence. Researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer…

9 hours ago

Retirees lose millions to fake holiday charities as scammers exploit seasonal generosity

The holidays are supposed to be a season of generosity, family and giving back. For…

13 hours ago

National program helps seniors spot scams as losses surge

DENVER – Scams targeting older Americans are surging, and federal officials are warning that the…

22 hours ago

How to spot and stop AI phishing scams

Artificial intelligence can do a lot for us. Need to draft an email? AI has…

1 day ago

Space startup unveils 1-hour orbital delivery system

A Los Angeles-based aerospace startup called Inversion Space has unveiled Arc, its first flagship spacecraft…

2 days ago

Don’t fall for fake settlement sites that steal your data

Sometimes, data breaches result in more than just free credit monitoring. Recently, Facebook began paying…

2 days ago