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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – Reuters
There was no – as circulated in the last few days – <a href="https://time.news/hassan-nasrallah-blames-israel-for-attack-on-iranian-embassy-in-damascus-analysis-and-reactions/" title="Hassan Nasrallah Blames Israel for Attack on Iranian Embassy in Damascus: Analysis and Reactions”>Hassan Nasrallah‘s funeral in Tehran, but instead a “memorial ceremony” presided over by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the country, which was attended by thousands of people. In fact, the fate of the body of the general secretary of the Party of God, who was killed eight days ago in an Israeli raid in Beirut, is unknown. Hezbollah sources yesterday denied reports that Nasrallah had been “temporarily placed in a secret location”. “No decision has yet been made – the sources confirm – regarding the date and place of the burial.” Sitting next to the top Iranian officials present at the ceremony held in the great mosque dedicated to Imam Khomeini was Abdullah Safieddin, the manager of Hezbollah’s office in Tehran and the brother of Hashem Safieddin, Nasrallah’s potential successor. In the sermon, the first Supreme leader for four years, when he celebrated the funeral of General Qassem Soleimani, Khamenei exalted Nasrallah: his “brother, my pride, the beloved face of the Islamic world”. rifle at his side. One of the unmistakable symbols of the moment and a sign that has already been made in the past. Like 2019 when he had a Russian-made Dragunov rifle in his hands during the sermon on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. Khamenei, in front of an impressively packed square, invited the Lebanese people not to despair and to continue resisting Israel, recalling how the loss of important figures had strengthened Lebanon in the past. “Israel is a vampire”, said Khamenei, therefore “every attack on the Zionist regime by any person or organization is a service to the entire region and perhaps to all humanity”. Khamenei also called for the unity of the Islamic world against a “common enemy”. Politics is “the arrogant and tyrants based on divisions and conflicts among Muslims,” said Khamenei in his sermon.
«The enemy of the Islamic nation is one, even if its methods are different from one country to another. We must bind the defense zones of the Islamic nation, from Afghanistan to Yemen and from Iran to Gaza and Lebanon.” For the highest Shiite authority, «everyone has the right to protect their land and their sovereignty in against occupiers and usurpers. The Palestinian people have every right to rise up against the occupier who has wasted their lives. No one has the right to criticize Lebanon for supporting their Palestinian brothers through their land.” Interference by foreign powers that support Israel, he said, is the most pressing problem in the region. The resistance to the Israeli aggression “set back the Zionist regime by 70 years” as it is now struggling to survive as it was at the time of its establishment. Israel “will not achieve victory over Hamas and Hezbollah”, he assured. And “if necessary, we will strike occupied Palestine again.”
October 7 – he insisted – and the Iranian missiles against Israel were “legitimate” actions, and the axis of resistance “will continue to fight for victory” despite the death of its leaders. The ceremony in Tehran took place at the same time as the Iranian diplomatic chief, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Beirut. This is the first visit to Lebanon by a senior Iranian official since the assassination of the Hezbollah leader on September 27. But it was Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the Guardians of the Revolution, the Pasdaran, who echoed Khamenei’s sentences. If Israel attacks Iran, Fadavi said in an interview with al-Mayadeen TV, if “it makes this mistake, we will target all its energy infrastructure, power plants, refineries and gas fields.” Fadavi also claimed that Tehran has the ability to strike all Israeli energy sites “at once.” US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Washington was discussing with Tel Aviv the possibility of Israeli raids on Iranian oil facilities in response to Tuesday’s attack from Tehran.